Brussels, 21/08/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European ombudsman is reported to have criticised the European Commission for failing to follow procedures correctly during its investigation into Intel, according to the Wall Street Journal. The ombudsman's report - which the American daily claims to have had sight of- accuses the Commission of "maladministration" by not recording in its case file a formal account of a "discussion" with a representative of the computer producer Dell, one of Intel's clients, during the investigation opened against Intel over abuse of dominant position. Intel, which is the world's largest producer of computer components, was handed down a record fine of 1.06 billion euros in May 2009 for having effectively illegally ousted its rival AMD from the chip market (EUROPE 9901).
During the said discussion, the Dell representative is reported to have described the performance of AMD's chips as "very poor". This could constitute a reason why Dell chose to buy its chips from Intel, thus undermining the argument that Intel used illegal methods to get its clients to choose its products. Worse still, ombudsman is reported to have stated that the Commission may have refused to provide Intel with the internal notes on this discussion, on the grounds that it did not constitute a "meeting" and therefore did not require that level of transparency. When contacted by EUROPE, the ombudsman declined to confirm or deny the existence of the report, as did a spokesperson for Intel. According to a number of commentators on competition policy in Brussels, the alleged report could be published in mid-September, when the hearing at the Court of First Instance in the case brought against the Commission's decision by Intel is also set to take place. The ombudsman's reports are not legally binding, but condemnation from that quarter, whose mission is to ensure that procedures are followed, could help to strengthen Intel's case before the Court. (C.D./trans.fl)