The European Commission said on Thursday its inspectors had carried out an unannounced inspection at the premises of Slovak Telekom, the incumbent telecom operator in the country.

The European Union (EU)'s antitrust watchdog said in a statement that it had reason to believe that the company concerned may have infringed EU rules on abuse of a dominant market position.

"The suspected conduct may include refusal to supply, margin squeeze and tying, possibly as part of an overall strategy to exclude competitors from the market," it said.

Surprise inspections are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected abuse of dominant position. The commission said the fact that it carried out such inspections does not mean that the company is guilty of anti-competitive behavior, nor does it prejudge the outcome of the investigation itself.

There is no strict deadline to complete an antitrust investigation under EU rules.

Source:Xinhua