A committee of European Union regulators has voted
unanimously to back fines against Microsoft for failing to comply
with a 2004 antitrust ruling, sources close the case have
said.
In its 2004 ruling, the European Commission ordered Microsoft to
provide a version of Windows without Media Player and to release
documentation for its workgroup server protocols. The company could
face a daily fine of £1.4m for failing to comply in full.
Under European rules, the commission must consult the regulators
on both the principle of the antitrust ruling and the amount of the
fine.
It is understood that the committee of regulators backed plans
to fine the software giant but did not discuss how much the fine
would be – a decision deferred to a meeting expected to take place
next week.
In a statement, Microsoft said it was “dedicating massive
resources to meet the aggressive schedule and high-quality
standards” set by the Commission. “Our engineers are working around
the clock to meet the seventh and final delivery date for this
project scheduled for 18 July.”
