Brussels, 31/05/2005 (Agence Europe) - Microsoft had until Tuesday evening to present the Commission with a proposal to implement the remedies imposed for abuse of dominant position over one year ago. Speaking to the press, the spokesperson for Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said on Tuesday that the analysis of Microsoft's offer, that has still to reach the Commission, would require some time before it will be possible to verify whether it meets expectations. The collaboration between the two parties has not allowed measures to be satisfactorily implemented and the Commission recently recalled the possibility of imposing a fine of 5% of the daily turnover, i.e. $5 million in the case of Microsoft.
Although the fine of EUR 497 million was paid in December 2004, two remedies requested by the Commission in March 2004 are still problematical: the marketing of a version of Windows without the Media Player software and the sharing of information on interoperability (EUROPE 8953). According to the spokesperson, who said on Tuesday that there was no reason to believe that Microsoft would not make an offer by midnight, the procedure leading to possible financial sanctions could last until end July. If the Microsoft offer does not prove in line with the demands, the Commission should initially formally notify its decision to impose a fine and wait, during a time still to specify, a response from Microsoft. The Commission should then proceed to consultation of the national competition authorities and have the decision endorsed by the College. Given these elements, the procedure could be completed “by the summer vacation”, the spokesperson said. Microsoft, whose enthusiasm to comply with the Commission's orders seems more than debateable, may try to gain time by appealing the possible imposition of a fine before the Court of First Instance. Appeal is not suspensive as such, Neelie Kroes's spokesperson said, but Microsoft can call for interim measures, as it had done during its preliminary appeal in June 2004 (EUROPE 8736). At the time, the application of the Commission's decision had been frozen, deferring implementation of the remedies by as much, mainly that concerning interoperability. As the Commission's patience has limits, things may be different this time, as it is up to the Commission to decide whether or not to apply the decision.