By Matt Williams - 16th September 2007
Brussels' reputation as a competition watchdog remains intact after the Court of First Instance upheld a controversial case against Microsoft.
The court found that the commission was correct to find Microsoft guilty of unfair practices in the software market.
“The abuse of a dominant position is confirmed by the court [and] the amount of the fine remains unchanged at €497m”, said the ruling issued on Monday.
“The commission did not err in assessing the gravity and duration of the infringement and did not err in setting the amount of the fine.”
The landmark ruling was welcomed by the commission, who had invested much into the investigation against the software giant.
The outcome is expected to strengthen Brussels' position in any future legal actions.
Commission president José Manuel Barroso welcomed the judgement.
"This judgement confirms the objectivity and the credibility of the commission's competition policy," he said in an initial statement.
"This policy protects the European consumer interest and ensures fair competition between businesses in the Internal Market."
Competition commissioner Neelie Kroes stated that, "The court has upheld a landmark commission decision to give consumers more choice in software markets."
"That decision set an important precedent in terms of the obligations of dominant companies to allow competition, in particular in high tech industries."
"The court ruling shows that the commission was right to take its decision", she added.
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