BRUSSELS, March 23: The European Commission rejected on Wednesday proposals by US software giant Microsoft for application of competition measures the commission imposed in March 2004. A commission spokesman told AFP that the commission had told Microsoft officially that a proposal it had made for how a mediator would be involved was “unacceptable”. The spokesman said: “Microsoft wanted a right of veto on the questions which the mediator could study.”
But for the commission “such a veto is unacceptable because it would compromise the ability of the person mandated to provide the commission with effective help in monitoring application of the penalties in March 2004.”
In March last year the commission imposed a record fine of 497 million euros (646 million dollars) on Microsoft and said it had to make available a version of its software Windows without the Media Player video software.
It also obliged Microsoft to make available information needed by producers of competing products to enable them to communicate with Windows.
The commission had said at the time that the conditions had to be applied efficiently and within a determined timetable.
The commission would appoint someone charged with overseeing application, including full and complete disclosure of information required for dialogue with Windows and that the two versions of Windows on offer provided the same performance to users.
A Microsoft spokesman told AFP that the company would study the commission’s objection constructively and would reply quickly. He said that Microsoft had put forward its proposal for how the expert would work about two months ago and that it was in line with the principles required by the commission earlier.
