BRUSSELS (AFP) - The European Union has fined Infineon, Philips and Samsung 138 million euros (S$227 million) for forming a smartcard chip cartel in Europe, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

The German, Dutch and South Korean companies "colluded through bilateral contacts that took place in the period between September 2003 and September 2005", the commission said in a statement, adding Japan's Renesas was granted immunity for revealing the existence of the cartel.