European regulators are almost certain to slap a fine on Microsoft for apparently failing to comply with a 2004 antitrust ruling, the EU competition commissioner said on Thursday. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 imagine another way,鈥� Neelie Kroes said when quizzed on the issue during a visit to Berlin.
No EU member state was fundamentally opposed to the imposition of a financial penalty, Kroes said. She declined to suggest a possible figure, but commentators in Brussels estimate it could amount to about 聙2 million ($2.5 million dollars) per day, backdated to 15 December 2005 鈥� the European Commission鈥檚 deadline for Microsoft to respect its ruling.
An advisory committee made up of competition authorities from the 25 EU member states is due to meet on Monday to discuss the issue. A European Commission spokeswoman told New 杏吧原创 that Wednesday 12 July 鈥渉as been pencilled in鈥� to announce a decision.
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Fine record
After a five-year investigation, the EU imposed a record $613 million fine on Microsoft in 2004 for allowing its 鈥渘ear monopoly鈥� in personal computer operating systems to spill into other markets. The EU also ordered Microsoft sell a version of its Windows operating system without its Media Player software, and to share technical information with rivals.
Although Microsoft paid the fine, it has fought tooth-and-nail over the information it is supposed to divulge to competitors. And Neil Barrett, an independent trustee appointed by the European Commission to investigate how the company has complied with the ruling, reported that the 12,000 pages of documentation Microsoft had supplied were 鈥渢otally useless鈥�.
Frustrated with Microsoft鈥檚 response, Brussels has threatened to slap daily fines on the company. But Microsoft says that it has released reams of key computer code needed by programmers of rival products and argues that further fines go too far.
