Brussels, 15/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - "The Member States have ruled unanimously on the draft Microsoft decision", said Amelia Torres on Monday. The spokesperson to Commissioner Monti was referring to the meeting behind closed doors of the consultative committee of experts from the Member States, which met that same morning. A final meeting is planned for 22 March, and the final decision is expected for 24 March. The European Commission is therefore preparing to penalise the American group for abusing its dominant position. All that remains to be settled, at the time of writing, is the sum of the fine. On learning of the result of the meeting, British Liberal MEP Chris Huhne welcomed the decision the Commission is preparing to return: "Everybody who was worried about keeping markets competitive only need to applaud the Commission's political courage, attacking the world software giant", he said.