European competition commissioner Neelie Kroes admitted today that she sees no alternative to penalizing Microsoft’s failure to comply with the European anti-trust process other than fines. «I can’t imagine any other way,» says the commissioner.
As the date scheduled for a decision approaches whether or not to comply with the European Commission’s deliberations in the process finalized in 2004, the Commissioner was questioned by the press and ended up predicting that the outcome of the issue with Microsoft will pass, as several media have cited sources, for heavy financial penalties.
It is recalled that the decision in the anti-trust case imposed a financial penalty of 497 million euros on Microsoft, in addition to a set of measures that the software company should comply with, in order not to harm its competitors.
This list included the launch of a version of Windows without a Media Player, thus guaranteeing users’ freedom of choice, and the availability of technical information that would allow their competitors to integrate their products more easily and effectively. software on Windows.
It is precisely this second requirement that Microsoft will not be fulfilling – although the company guarantees otherwise – which puts the giant software under the watchful eye of the competition authorities, who promise before the summer holidays a decision on the case.
Sources close to the process, cited by C | Net, even guarantee that a decision has already been made and advance that a committee created for the purpose will have decided last Monday that Bill Gates’ company will pay a fine of 2 million euros for day for non-compliance with the decision.
The information has not yet been confirmed by any official source. Asked about the fine to be applied Neelie Kroes replies: «I cannot inform you about this».
The next and last college of commissioners to be held before the summer break is scheduled for July 12, when the European decision on the matter is likely to be known.
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