The FINANCIAL -- The European Commission said Friday it suspects that four North Sea shrimp traders may have formed an illegal cartel to fix prices in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium.

The EU's executive arm issued a preliminary view that the companies, which it did not name, may have violated the 27-nation bloc's antitrust rules.

"We all enjoy a good shrimp cocktail but ... consumers may feel a bad after-taste if it turns out that there has been a conspiracy to raise prices," said Antoine Colombani, the commission's competition spokesman.

"If this was confirmed, this would of course be a very serious offence, and the companies could face heavy fines," he told a news briefing.

As EUbusiness reported, the traders are suspected of colluding to fix prices and allocate markets and customers in the countries concerned.

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