Google Made Another Offer to Settle EU Antitrust Case

Google offered a new proposal to the EU (European Union) regulators in another attempt to end the almost three year old antitrust case of the EU on how the California-based firm processes its search engine operations.

Competition Commissioner of EU Joaquin Almunia said in a Bloomberg interview on Monday that they have recently received fresh proposals from Google Inc. last week. Should they find that the new proposal is satisfactory, they can proceed further to an agreement in the next few months.

Google's previous offer to put labels on its distinct search service and provide links rivaling unique search service were disapproved by the Commissioner last July. Its competitor, Microsoft Corp, pressed the European Union regulators to further strengthen concessions from Google.

Almunia said however that they need to complete their analysis of the proposal and eliminate the agency’s concerns first for them to determine what next steps they will require Google to take.

The agency based in Brussels is probing on Google's operations to find out if it positions and advances its own search services such as Google Finance and Google News, or if it replicates reviews of its competitors for restaurant and travel surveys, or if they have agreements with other software developers or web organizations which hamper impede competition within the advertising arena.

Al Verney, Google's spokesperson based in Brussels, said that they are consistently working with the EU regulators to find solution to the matter.

Competitors, such as Microsoft, Nikia Oyj and Expedia, on the other hand joined forces to appeal that players in this industry must also have a say before the Commission finally issues its final decision. A legal representative of FairSearch Europe, Thomas Vinje, also advocates a similar appeal saying that since Google failed to provide a serious proposal last time, it is called for that Google's competitors and its users must be consulted through a "second market test."

Almunia said that they would opt for an official complaint or a statement of objections towards Google should they see that the new proposal does not fit the requirements. However, he further stressed the challenges of the settlement since it involves handling new factors and dealing with "a sector of activity that is moving very, very fast."