All Wales Euro MP Jill Evans has welcomed moves by the European Commission to investigate inflated CD prices.
Ms Evans, a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Consumer Policy said,
"I welcome these moves to address the problem of inflated CD prices. It is high time someone tackled the world's biggest record companies who are suspected of forming a cartel to keep the price of CDs artificially high. CD prices in this country are extortionate compared to many other countries."
The European Commission named EMI Group, Bertelsmann's BMG unit, Warner Music, Sony Corporation and Universal as the five multinationals involved, and said it had asked for information from five online retailers and 13 traditional outlets.
Ms Evans added,
"The evidence shows that we are paying more for our CD's here in the UK than elsewhere. For example, the Consumers' Association said that last November it found the Britney Spears hit album 'Oops, I Did It Again' on average cost £10.77 in the US, £12.08 in most European countries and £12.26 in the UK."
The announcement follows a similar investigation by the Federal Trust Commission, the US's anti-trust authority, which ended last May with a settlement in which record companies agreed to stop setting "minimum advertised prices". It estimated that the companies' practices had cost consumers some $480m (£330m) over three years.
The move was also welcomed by consumers' organisations, which have long been concerned that the price of CDs is being inflated.
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