The European Commission on Thursday fined US confectionery giant Mondelez International Inc. €337.5 million for breaching competition rules by restricting sales of its products in the 27-nation bloc.

This company „abused a dominant position“ by preventing cross-border trade of its products in the European Union, the regulator said in a statement.

„Mondelez“, formerly known as „Kraft“, is one of the world's largest producers of chocolate, biscuits and coffee, with brands such as „Oreo“, „Cadbury“, „Milka“ and „Toblerone“. Its revenues last year were estimated at almost €35 billion.

„The company was found to have illegally restricted traders' access to products from other EU countries, where they are cheaper, allowing it to maintain higher prices and harming consumers“, EC said in a EC release.

Free movement of goods is one of the key pillars of the EU's single market.

The survey was launched in January 2021 and covered the period 2012-2019.

„Mondelez“ said on Thursday it had reached an agreement with the EC to settle the claims, and had reserved funds for a possible fine as recently as last year.