Brussels, 19/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - Although they welcome the openness of the new European Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager, and her intention to listen to all complainants in the 'Google case', the MEPs Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (ALDE, Spain) and Andreas Schwab (EPP, Germany) pointed out, on Wednesday 19 November, that the longer the investigation takes, the longer it will be until the case is resolved. They therefore presented proposals to the press to move this dossier forward.
“SMEs and consumers in our opinion cannot wait another five years before serious actions” are taken, said Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (in September, the Commission rejected a third series of commitments proposed by the American giant to respond to accusations of abuse of dominant position in online searches and the related advertising).
In a document they distributed to the press, the two MEPs listed possible scenarios. The first of these is for the Commission to try to move forward by means of a transaction procedure. “This would mean that the Commission accepts the unilateral commitments made by Google”, states the document, which also refers to the limited leeway available to the Commission. “I do not have much confidence in a fourth set of
remedies proposed by Google”, Tremosa said.
The second possible scenario is to draw up a statement of objections. By choosing to go down this road, however, the Commission would be exposed to the “risk of a long battle before the courts”, Tremosa warned, adding that should a statement of objections, together with the threat of a fine, prove necessary, he would be in favour of an initiative of this kind.
To break the deadlock on the dossier, the two MEPs therefore propose the use of a rotation mechanism for general Internet searches. By means of this system, Google and the rival vertical results reaching a certain performance threshold would be displayed in the same location and with the same prominence. This idea could be part of the transaction procedure, and would allow all relevant players to compete with each other.
A regulation. “If the Commission has problems by tackling the case by anti-trust procedures, it could come up with a proposed regulation”, Schwab added. The two MEPs' document suggests the possibility of a regulation on dominant search engines, similar to the existing regulation on computerised reservation systems, although this comparison has its limits. Schwab referred briefly to the letter he and Tremosa sent the week before to Andrus Ansip, vice-president of the Commission responsible for the digital single market, calling upon him to ensure coherence between the directorates general of the Commission on issues related to the digital single market, in other words the investigation into Google and the NIS proposal. These two questions “illustrate how the lack of coherence within the European Commission makes it nearly impossible to shape a legal framework for the digital single market that citizens trust and that businesses want to invest in”, they write.
Schwab expressed his hopes that Commissioner Vestager will attend the hearing they are to hold on the Google dossier. “What we are doing is not lobbying”, Schwab stated, when called upon to explain his commitment to the issue. “It is a public question”. He also went on to explain that it was a matter for the EU to make proper use of its legislation. “We are certain that this is the case”, said Schwab. Tremosa stressed that with a 90% market share, Google has a virtual monopoly in Europe, whilst its share of the market is smaller in the United States. “We are calling for similar competition conditions and to see European companies rolling with the possibility to develop their business models”. (EL)