Brussels, 03/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission confirmed on Tuesday 3 March that Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager (Denmark) had met Google Executive Director Eric Schmidt and other representatives of the US company on Monday. Without giving any further explanation, Commission spokesperson Ricardo Cardoso noted that Vestager was keen to have all the facts in the Google case up to date before moving into a further stage in the investigation that has been going on for four years. Google stands accused of abuse of its dominant position.
MEP Ramon Tremosa i Balcells (ALDE, Spain) told Parliament Magazine on Tuesday that he believes the commissioner will be able to “finish the job soon” and he hopes that the Commission will “have a new approach to this case” in the spring. The commissioner has met a number of number of complainants (who total around 20) and said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week that she is impressed by their arguments. According to one of the complainants, too, the Commission could move before summer. The Commission, however, has given no indication as to its timetable.
The above-mentioned complainant says that the commissioner appears to want to find a long-term solution. On Monday, Icomp, an industrial group backed by Microsoft, urged the Commission to draft a statement of objections setting out the framework of Google's future engagement. The American giant has already presented three series of commitment proposals, none of which contained anything on “mapping”. This is a point on which the Commission would seem to have given greater consideration, including by means of specific questionnaires sent to complainants.
The European Parliament is due, next week, to adopt the annual report on competition which contains a paragraph urging the Commission to act decisively on all concerns that have been identified and to find a long-term solution for a balanced, fair and open internet search structure. (Elodie Lamer)