EU regulators are preparing to charge U.S. software company Microsoft for failing to comply with a 2009 ruling ordering it to offer users a choice of web browsers, the EU’s antitrust chief said on Thursday.
“The next step is to open a formal proceeding into the company’s breach of an agreement,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters. “It should not be a long investigation because the company itself explicitly recognized its breach of the agreement.”
The European Commission opened an investigation into the case in July, the first time a company is alleged to have failed to meet its commitments under EU antitrust decisions. If found guilty, Microsoft could face fines up to 10 percent of its global turnover.
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