(BRUSSELS) - EU competition regulators on Thursday raided unnamed manufacturers of cathode ray tubes in television sets and computer monitors on suspicions they were running an illegal cartel.

"The (European) Commission has reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated (EU) rules on cartels and restrictive business practices," it said in a statement.

The European Union's antitrust watchdog did not say which companies were targeted by Thursday's action, but Japanese group Matsushita said that one of its subsidiaries had received inspectors.

Such surprise inspections mark a preliminary step in cartel investigations, which the Commission said have no strict deadline and do not mean that a company is necessarily guilty.

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes is in the midst of a crackdown on cartels and has chalked up more than a billion euros in fines so far this year against illegal clubs that her services have uncovered.

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