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Dawn Raid Analysis Quarterly

The White & Case Dawn Raid Analysis Quarterly (DRAQ) is an information and discussion resource regarding surprise on-the-spot inspections by antitrust authorities (dawn raids) across Europe. DRAQ provides updates on recent case law, enforcement activity and trends.

Q4 2024 at a glance

In the last quarter of 2024, European competition authorities carried out a total of 17 dawn raids, two less than in the same period in 2023. 

The DRAQ now contains statistics of dawn raids carried out by the Czech Competition Authority. The Czech authority was the most active in Q4 2024 followed by the Polish competition authority, with four and three dawn raids each, respectively.  The most targeted sector in Q4 was the consumer goods sector. 

Outlook for 2025:

  • The Director of the Cartels Directorate at DG COMP, Maria Jaspers, has signaled that 2025 will see an uptick in cartel infringement decisions. She indicated that a focus of the EC’s cartel unit will be cases concerning unlawful exchange of information, including collusions facilitated by automated tools and algorithms. The EC is currently investigating a consultancy in the tire sector, which was dawn raided in June 2024. The subject of the investigation is whether the consultancy firm may have facilitated disclosure of commercially sensitive information.
  • In January 2025, it was reported that Red Bull had filed a claim with the General Court for costs (EUR 345,000) from the EC which the company allegedly incurred when an antitrust inspection at its Austrian premises was transferred to Brussels. This is in addition to another claim lodged in May 2023 in which Red Bull is challenging the dawn raid inspection itself, in particular on the basis that the inspectors copied a large amount of information and did not take sufficient steps to protect personal data. The exact grounds of the company’s appeal are expected to be published in the coming months. The case number is T-682/24

We provide more statistics below on the number of raids and the sectors impacted, including a country-by-country list, available through our Interactive Dawn Raid map.

Interactive Dawn Raid map

Hover over the highlighted countries to get a closer look at the enforcement activity of the respective National Competition Authorities since 2021.

Austria

2024

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: Vehicle repair

2023

  • One dawn raid 
    • Sector: Refrigeration and freezing equipment 

2022

  • Three dawn raids
    • Sectors: Wood-pellets; waste management

2021

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: Waste management.

Belgium

2024

  • One dawn raid
    • Sector: bus and coach passenger transport

2023

  • One dawn raid
    • Sector: IT manufacturers

2022

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Bovine meat; Press publisher and distribution

2021

  • None reported

Bulgaria

2024

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: traders of construction machinery and equipments

2023

  • One dawn raid
    • Sector: Food and beverage

2022

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: Toners and other printing consumables.

2021

  • None reported

Croatia

2024

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Management, constructions, and maintenance of state roads; sports and recreation packages for employees

2023

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: Wheat

2022

  • None reported

2021

  • None reported

Cyprus

2023

  • None reported

2022

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: Bricks

2021

  • None reported

Czech Republic

2024

  • 9 dawn raids
    • Sectors: Domestic appliances; lorries; roads and motorways; web portal and search engines; unknown

2023

  • 8 dawn raids
    • Sectors: Domestic appliances; consumer electronics; unknown

2022

  • 14 dawn raids
    • Sectors: Consumer electronics; smelters; unknown

2021

  • 16 dawn raids
    • Sectors: Pet food and pet accessories; railways; electronic appliances

Denmark

2023

  • None reported

2022

  • None reported

2021

  • One dawn raid
    • Sector: Auto repair services

Estonia

  • No dawn raids for the period 2021 – 2023

Finland

2024

  • One dawn raid
    • Sector: Elder care homes

2023

  • None reported

2022

  • None reported

2021

  • None reported

France

2024

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sectors: Medical biology; energy cable distribution; manufacture and distribution of explosives for civil uses; agricultural inputs

2023

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sector: Rail transport; graphic cards; production and marketing of food and non-food product sectors; production and marketing of food and non-food products

2022

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sectors: Cow's milk; leather goods; agricultural supplies; cash register services for newsagents and tobacconists

2021

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Food retail; pharmacy data collection

Germany

2024

  • Three dawn raids
    • Sectors: Tyre retail; unknown; toilet paper, paper towels and tissues

2023

  • 11 dawn raids

2022

  • 12 dawn raids
    • Sectors: Power-cable manufacturer
    • As stated in the Bundeskartellamt (BKa) annual report of 2022, in 2022 the BKa carried out a total of 12 dawn raids and provided official assistance for another six

2021

  • Two dawn raids
    • As stated in the BKa annual report of 2021, in 2021 the BKa conducted two dawn raids

Greece

2024

  • Seven dawn raids
    • Sectors: IT and technology sector and related services; organisation of educational trips for public and private schools; smart water meter systems; ferry services; waste management; pet food; coffee, chocolate and infant nutrition

2023

  • Seven dawn raids
    • Sectors: Pharmaceuticals; alcoholic beverages; food processing; poultry; electricity grid; baby products; medical equipment

2022

  • 12 dawn raids
    • Sectors: Children's toys; aluminium; PVC and iron processing; import and distribution of white goods; transport; electricity; catering; medical products; 2 x construction; eyewear; cosmetics and personal care; breast pumps and accessories

2021

  • 13 dawn raids
    • Sectors: Sunflower; cotton and maize seeds; cadastral survey services; production and supply of pharmaceutical products; refining; wholesale and retail trade of petrol and diesel; 2x supply and retail trade of supermarket products; school bags; kids’ lunch bags and pencil cases; IT systems; catering services; public tenders for natural gas works; import; wholesale and retail markets of power-driven hard tools and garden tools; wholesale and retail markets of telecommunications and teleconferencing equipment; lighting systems

Hungary

2023

  • Three dawn raids
    • Sectors: Food and beverages; soft drinks;online accommodation booking

2022

  • None reported

2021

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Timber; gravel market

Ireland

2024

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sector: Airlines; home alarms

2023

  • One dawn raid
    • Sector: Publicly funded transport

2022

  • None reported

2021

  • None reported

Italy

2024

  • Three dawn raids
    • Sector: Online travel agencies; potato chips; vehicle repair

2023

  • Seven dawn raids
    • Sectors: Oil; electric recharging stations; organization of sporting competitions; automotive fuels; anti-lock breaking systems; organization of competitive motor sports events; wine glass bottles

2022

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Tolled motorways; catering services for penitential institutions

2021

  • None reported

Latvia

  • No dawn raids for the period 2021 – 2023

Lithuania

  • No dawn raids for the period 2021 – 2023

Luxembourg

2024

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: Pharmaceutical and parapharmaceutical

2023

  • None reported

2022

  • None reported

2021

  • None reported

Netherlands

2023

  • None reported

2022

  • None reported

2021

  • One dawn raid
    •  Sectors: Food processing sector

Norway

2023

  • None reported

2022

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Finance; construction

2021

  • Two dawn raids
    •  Sectors: Pharmaceuticals; relocation services

Poland

2024

  • Seven dawn raids
    • Sectors: Consumer electronics; digital distribution platform for video games; technologies related to electric and robotic systems; flooring panels; sale of drones; home appliance retailer; power production, trading and distribution 

2023

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sector: Agricultural machinery; processing and wholesale trade of raspberries; household applicances, grain storage

2022

  • Three dawn raids
    • Sectors: Gas meters; grain trade and shipments; coffee machines

2021

  • Five dawn raids
    • Sectors: Monitoring equipment; cleaning devices; hospital IT systems; KIA car dealerships; pork wholesale

Portugal

2024

  • Three dawn raids
    • Sectors: Unknown

2023

  • Three dawn raids
    • Sectors: supermarket retailing; condominium administration

2022

  • Six dawn raids
    • Sectors: Wood-chip; wholesale of pharmaceutical goods; IT consulting; health & pharmaceutical; pharmaceutical and para pharmaceutical

2021

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Procurement of military equipment; commercialised subscription databases with business information

Romania

2024

  • Six dawn raids
    • Sectors: Archival services for pensions; electricity meter reading services; ICT equipment; medical oxygen; dietary supplements; hydrological data

2023

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sector: Console gaming; Sunflower oil, butter and sugar; voucher services related to employee benefits; banking

2022

  • One dawn raid

    • Sectors: Motor vehicles

2021

  • 12 dawn raids
    • Sectors: Telecommunications; direct oral anticoagulants; paints and decorative coatings; book distribution; archiving of documents; tenders for an electronic services project; poultry; electricity; labour protection equipment; retail of electronic products; technical site permit services; street signage
       

Slovakia

2024

  • Three dawn raids
    • Sector: Photovoltaics; provision of institutional healthcare; medical devices suppliers

2023

  • Three dawn raid
    • Sector: Healthcare waste management; laboratory medical diagnostics; medicines and medical devices

2022

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sectors: IT; forestry; cables; sale and repair of robotised workplaces

2021

  • None reported

Slovenia

2024

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: IT suppliers

2023

  • None reported

2022

  • None reported

2021

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: Driver training
       

Spain

2024

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sector: Provision of consulting and technical assistance services; leasing of facilities intended for the activity of FBOs at airports; agriculture machinery; consultancy and technical assistance services

2023

  • Eight dawn raids
    • Sector: Travel agencies; haircare products; low-voltage electricity networks and electricity trading; agricultural machinery; rail transport; pharmaceutical digital logistics tool; electricity and gas; drugs and medications

2022

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sectors: Energy; food; security and surveillances services

2021

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Plastic and metal recycling; database marketing
       

Sweden

2023

  • None reported

2022

  • One dawn raid
    • Sectors: Bread

2021

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sectors: Waste management and treatment; plumbing products and installations; bread; PCR tests
       

Switzerland

2024

  • One dawn raid
    • Sector: Civil engineering and construction

2023

  •  Four dawn raids
    • Sector: Fragrances; printer accessories and office equipment; civil engineering and construction; steel products

2022

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Dermatological medication; road maintenance

2021

  • Two dawn raids
    • Sectors: Transport of waste collection and waste disposal; unknown
       

United Kingdom

2023

  • One dawn raid
    • Sector: Fragrances

2022

  • Three dawn raids
    • Sector: End-of-life vehicle manufacturing; immigration facilities; sports TV broadcasting 

2021

  • None reported

EU

2024

  • Four dawn raids; one FSR dawn raid
    • Sector: Tyre manufacturers; consultancy for tyre manufacturers; security equipment; financial derivatives; data contruction centre

2023

  • Seven dawn raids
    • Sectors: Energy drinks; fragrances; fashion; synthetic turf manufacturing; medical devices for cardio-vascular applications; Chemical additives for cement and chemical admixtures for concrete and mortar; online ordering and delivery of food, groceries and other consumer goods

2022

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sectors: Fashion; online food delivery; water infrastructure; ELV vehicles

2021

  • Four dawn raids
    • Sectors: Defence; animal health; wood pulp; manufacturing and distribution of garments
Back to Map

A look at the statistics

The information below has been sourced from LexisPSL, and is based on dawn raids that have been publicly announced by competition authorities. The LexisPSL information was supplemented from selected public sources in jurisdictions where further information was available. Since not all competition authorities announce every dawn raid, the data below likely underestimate the number of raids. The sector charts reflect dawn raids in which the sectors were identified by the competent authorities. In some jurisdictions (e.g., Germany or Czech Republic), the authority publishes the number of raids without identifying the sector. As a result, the statistics in the charts below may underestimate the actual number of dawn raids by sector and country. The statistics displayed for the Czech Republic are available only as of 2021.


White & Case means the international legal practice comprising White & Case LLP, a New York State registered limited liability partnership, White & Case LLP, a limited liability partnership incorporated under English law and all other affiliated partnerships, companies and entities.

This article is prepared for the general information of interested persons. It is not, and does not attempt to be, comprehensive in nature. Due to the general nature of its content, it should not be regarded as legal advice.

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