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European fine of 337.5 million euros for food giant Mondelez

by AI | 24.May 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The European Commission is imposing a fine of more than 330 million euros on the American food giant Mondelez, which also has a strong Belgian presence. The Belgian consumer was one of the victims of the contested practices used by Mondelez.

European Commissioner for Competition Policy Margrethe Vestager announced the news of the fine for Mondelez. - Photo: Virginia Mayo/AP

Brussels – The European Commission fines the American food giant Mondelez 337.5 million euros for hindering cross-border sales of cookies, chocolate, and coffee products in the EU. Mondelez also abused its dominant market position in the sale of chocolate. The Belgian consumer was one of the victims of this practice.

Mondelez is the company behind brands like Milka, Côte d’Or, Oreo, Toblerone, LU, and TUC, and until 2015 also had some coffee brands in its portfolio. The headquarters of Mondelez is located in the United States, but the food giant also has several establishments in Belgium. With Dirk Van de Put, Mondelez has a Belgian CEO.

An investigation by the Commission, which began in 2019 with unannounced inspections in Mondelez establishments in Belgium, Germany, and Austria, has revealed that the company deliberately restricted the sales of its products through wholesalers and other distributors.

Between 2015 and 2019, Mondelez also abused its dominant market position. It artificially kept the price of chocolate high, a practice from which the Belgian consumer was one of the victims.

In response to the European fine, Mondelez states that the criticized practices were “historical, isolated incidents,” “most of which were already terminated or resolved well before the Commission’s investigation.”