ESA may carry out investigations into specific sectors of the economy or into particular types of agreements spanning various sectors.

ESA may decide to carry out a sector inquiry when a market does not appear to be working as well as it should. This may be indicated by evidence such as:

limited trade between EEA States
lack of new entrants on the market
rigidity of prices
other circumstances suggesting that competition may be restricted or distorted within the territory covered by the EEA Agreement

A sector inquiry is essentially an information-gathering exercise that enables ESA to gain in-depth knowledge about particular markets. Such knowledge may in turn form the basis for subsequent investigative proceedings under Articles 53 or 54 of the EEA Agreement.

ESA may, in the course of its inquiry, request the businesses or industry/consumer associations involved in these sectors to supply information; it can also carry out inspections of business premises. ESA will normally publish a non-confidential report on the results of a sector inquiry and invite comments from interested parties. A public hearing may also be held.

Details of older sector inquiries (for example in financial services, energy, telecommunications, sale of sports content) can be found in ESA’s annual reports archive.

ESA welcomes information from businesses and/or consumers and/or their representative bodies on any markets/sectors that may be suitable for the purposes of a sector inquiry.