MICROSOFT

28th Feb 2008

The EU is still coming up with ways to ensure Microsoft complies with the ruling by the European Court of First Instance (Europe's second highest court) made last September. Microsoft has just been fined a record €899 million (£680m) for charging unreasonable prices to rivals for access to its dominant Windows software. The fine is the largest ever imposed by the EU on a single company and brings and brings the total fines levies on Microsoft to €1.7 billion during the ten-year legal wrangle.

Nellie Kroes, The EU Competition Commissioner, said: "Microsoft is the first company in 50 years of EU competition policy that the Commission has had to fine for failure to comply with an anti-trust decision". Kroes is also investigating two further complaints against the company regarding interoperability and bundling of products such as Internet Explorer and Windows.

Although the fines seem enormous, the sums involved are a drop in the ocean to Microsoft. It is, however, vitally important that the EU pursues its action against the giant monopoly provider. Microsoft has ruthlessly suppressed competition. The environment created by such behaviour is not conducive to innovation and does not encourage new businesses in the computer field dominated by this one huge corporation. All power to Nellie Kroes.