Archive for the ‘europe’ tag
Morning News (European Commission Edition)
The EC Competition Authority announces that they conducted dawn raids on Spanish cement industry.
European Commission Imposes €1.06 billion Fine on Intel
The European Commission (EC) today imposed a €1.06 billion fine on the Intel Corporation for “abuse of a dominant market position . . . by engaging in illegal anticompetitive practices to exclue competitors from the market for computer chips called x86 central processing units.” The Commission futher ordered Intel “to cease the anticompetitive practices to the extent that they are still ongoing.”
According to the Commission, Intel engaged in a practice of providing substantial rebates to PC manufacturers who either used exclusively or predominantly Intel processors. The rebates themselves were not the basis for the fine, but “the conditions Intel attached to those rebates.”
The Commission also found that Intel made direct payments to manufacturers to delay the launch of products containing processors from rival AMD. This “pay-for-delay” scheme, the Commission finds, was directly aimed at preventing AMD from selling its product on the open market and thus violative of EU Law.
I (heart) Nellie Kroes
Microsoft has been fined (again) by the European Union. This time, the Commission brought down the hammer, fining Microsoft € 899 million ($1.35 billion) for failing to comply with a previous decision on patent licensing fees.
While the fine may only be a fraction of the company’s revenue, the fine represents about 10% of the company’s 2007 revenues, putting it towards the maximum end of the fine allowed. Under EC competition rules, a company may only be fined a maximum of 10% of its previous year’s turnover.
Google almost ready to acquire DoubleClick
According to a number of news sources, the FTC stated today that it will not oppose the proposed acquisition of DoubleClick by Google. The proposed deal, at US$ 3.1 billion deal would make Google the largest internet advertising company in the world.
However, the European Commission has not yet ruled on whether or not Google’s proposed purchase of DoubleClick violates Article 139/2004 [rules on merger control]. A ruling on this is due by April 2008.
Belgians find unity in frites
They may not have a government, but the Belgians do have one thing: frite week.
According to the Telegraph, 98.5% of Belgians find that the lowly fried potato is the symbol of national unity. Apparently, it’s the only source of agreement amongst the entire kingdom.
Oh, did I mention that the Belgians still do not have a government?
Microsoft to Commission: You Win
Microsoft, the perennial whipping boy of the industrialized world, announced today that it will not contest the ECJ ruling against it. This seems to be tacit acquiescence on the part of Redmond that it is not the 800-pound gorilla anymore.
[From Microsoft to obey EU antitrust ruling - International Herald Tribune]
Dutch Cabinet: No new referendum over EU
In what is perhaps the most important advance towards a new reform treaty for the European Union, the Dutch cabinet in the Hague today announced that it will not hold a new referendum on the upcoming EU reform treaty.
For those who may not remember, the first attempt at a constitution for the EU was killed by the Dutch people, who overwhelmingly voted against the new treaty in 2005.
The move also puts a damper on UK efforts to hold a similar referendum, a vote likely to be against acceptance of the new treaty.
[From nrc.nl - Europa - Kabinet: geen nieuw referendum over EU]
[English language report from BBC News - Dutch cabinet rules out EU vote]
Microsoft Fine Upheld
The Court of First Instance (CFI) upheld the 2004 fine imposed by the European Commission today for an “abusing a dominant position” (Article 82 TEC). The Court upheld the previous decision holding that, once a dominant position is established, “the refusal by the holder of a dominant position to grant a licence may infringe Article 82 EC unless the refusal is objectively justified.” (Case T-201/04, para. 333). Microsoft will have to pay its € 497 million fine.
