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To: Dan Spillane who wrote (2321)	7/22/1999 10:25:00 PM
From: Dan Spillane	Respond to of 2539

Now a "Coca Cola" war??? EU says Coca-Cola could face stiff fines BRUSSELS, July 22 (Reuters) - Outgoing European Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert said on Thursday that Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO - news) could face ''very high'' fines if suspicions that the company was abusing its dominant position in Europe were proven. Van Miert also handed down a stern warning to the U.S. drinks giant, saying that if the allegations were confirmed, it could turn into ''a really big case.'' ''If we can get all the evidence together and Coca-Cola is unable to call it into question, fines could become very high. The maximum is 10 percent of turnover,'' Van Miert told Belgium's VRT Flemish-language television news. The Commission, the European Union's antitrust watchdog, confirmed earlier that its agents had swooped unannounced and confiscated records at the offices of Coke anchor bottlers in Germany, Austria, Denmark and Britain. Van Miert, a Belgian who has gained a high profile as an antitrust crusader, took a tough line in his comments to VRT. ''Coca-Cola is a very powerful company and also dominates the market in many countries. And if one dominates, the temptation is high to abuse the power of that dominance,'' he said. ''We assume that it is that way and it is our duty to do something about it because nobody should be above the law including the most powerful companies like Coca-Cola.'' ''It is an important case also because such practices are improper. If we can prove it black and white, and that is our intention, than this could be a really big case,'' he added. The Commission said earlier it had searched the offices of Coca-Cola Beverages Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: CCB.L), its Austrian subsidiary and two other Coca-Cola bottlers in Denmark and Germany to gather evidence on sales rebates and other incentives which can be illegal if they lock up distributors with a dominant firm. Coca-Cola said it had not violated any competition law.