EU Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva issued a warning Tuesday that iPhones may be withdrawn from store shelves if it turns out recent screen explosions are hardware-based problems.

"I do not need permission from Apple to stop products entering the market," Meglena Kuneva announced in Brussels. "If goods are dangerous, then we will order a recall."

The investigation is now in the hands of independent experts, who are working to discover if there are problems with the iPhone.

"We are making laboratory checks to see if there is a problem with the phone, with their batteries or if there has been misuse of the device," added Kuneva. "We need to have complete certainty from one member state that these goods are dangerous."

"If I receive information from the French authorities that they are dangerous, I will act in the interests of the consumer". Kuneva stated that several other European countries had submitted complaints about the iPhone to the Commission.

Apple allegedly maintains the few reported incidents of exploding iPhones are freak incidents, arguing that users have caused the built-in lithium ion batteries to overheat.

Today's warning, targeted specifically at Apple's iPhone, follows Kuneva's Monday unveiling of the EC demands for lower default sound levels on all MP3 players sold in Europe.