Brussels, 27/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - It was by a comfortable margin on 27 November that the European Parliament adopted a single market resolution calling for the separation of Google's search activities and its other commercial services (see EUROPE 11205).
The ALDE Group did not support the resolution. Its deputy leader, Sophie in't Veld (Netherlands), argued that “Parliament should not interfere in the internal organisation of individual businesses” and that it was for the European Commission to investigate. ALDE is also of the view that the resolution should have dealt with the question how we can speed up the integration of the European digital market. In addition, ALDE says, the EPP and S&D Groups voted against key amendments, for example, on a single European regulator for telecoms and financing projects for broadband. From among the Liberals, only four MEPs, one of whom was Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (Spain) who is very active in the Google dossier, voted for the resolution.
The Greens/EFA Group all voted against the resolution. Its expert in the matter, Jan Philipp Albrecht (Germany) said that, even though the group backs the investigation being conducted by the Commission into Google, the resolution's failure “to focus on net neutrality and consumer protection made it impossible for our group to support this political theatre”.
The EPP Group was delighted. “This is a strong signal from the Parliament”, stated Alain Cadec (France). He said that “Google has to abide by European rules”. On behalf of the S&D Group, Evelyne Gebhardt (Germany) said that internet users should be able to choose from among several competitors.
American offensive. Several members of the US Congress wrote a joint letter earlier in the week to express their concerns to Parliament President Martin Schulz about the “appearance of a trend in the European Union towards discriminating against foreign companies with respect to the digital economy”. “We are alarmed by proposals that seem to target U.S. technology companies, create market access barriers, and limit innovation”, they write, making mention of the European Parliament resolution on the digital single market. The US Mission to the EU felt it was important that the process of identifying competitive harms and potential remedies be based on objective and impartial findings and not be politicised.
Mario Mariniello, a former Commission official now with think tank Bruegel, said that, when it comes to enforcement of EU law, the parliament should not seek to influence the Commission. Digital Economy Commissioner Günther Oettinger is quoted by Bloomberg as saying: “Don't think at the end of the day breaking-up (Google) as such is what we can expect”. Meanwhile, four German ministers have called on the Commission to bring forward a legislative text guaranteeing the neutrality of internet platforms. (EL with MB)