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European Commission, The


Self Description

October 2007: "The European Commission embodies and upholds the general interest of the Union and is the driving force in the Union's institutional system. Its four main roles are to propose legislation to Parliament and the Council, to administer and implement Community policies, to enforce Community law (jointly with the Court of Justice) and to negotiate international agreements, mainly those relating to trade and cooperation."

http://ec.europa.eu/about_en.htm

Third-Party Descriptions

January 2013: '“The FTC’s decision to close its investigation with only voluntary commitments from Google is disappointing and premature, coming just weeks before the company is expected to make a formal and detailed proposal to resolve the four abuses of dominance identified by the European Commission, first among them biased display of its own properties in search results,” says the group made up of Google competitors (which includes a number of travel sites, as well as Microsoft and Oracle).'

http://www.webpronews.com/ftc-google-antitrust-investigation-officially-closed-2013-01

March 2012: "Why would Apple have agreed to pay higher prices for books while Amazon was still out there hocking them below cost? Good question. Those curious circumstances are why some, including Justice it now appears, think there might have been collusion on the part of the publishers. The European Commission opened its own formal investigation into the matter back in December."

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/03/how-cheap-should-books-be/254279/

January 2012: "The proposed data protection regulation from the European Commission, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, could have significant consequences for all Internet companies that trade in personal data, whether it is pictures that people post on social networks or what they buy on retail sites or look for on a search engine."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/24/technology/europe-weighs-a-tough-law-on-online-privacy-and-user-data.html

December 2011: "Meanwhile, representatives of the International Monetary Fund and European Commission walked out of negotiations last week over assistance for the heavily indebted country after the government introduced proposals to significantly restrict the independence of the Hungarian National Bank."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/world/europe/foes-of-hungarys-government-fear-demolition-of-democracy.html

May 2011: '“It looks like a real unraveling — everyone is taking their own position and as a result cooperation has become an impossibility,” said Paul De Grauwe, an economist in Brussels who advises the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/business/global/24iht-euro24.html

January 2011: "But this month's mass theft of E.U. allowances (EUAs) from some national registries has gotten the broader carbon trading community very much up in arms. Many are blasting some nation members of the European Commission for not taking the threat seriously, undermining their case for spreading carbon markets beyond Europe, especially to North America and parts of East Asia."

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2011/01/31/31climatewire-europes-carbon-emissions-trading-growing-pai-74999.html

April 2010: 'In turn, Bowler filed an antitrust complaint [1] with the European Commission (the European Union's regulatory arm) in late March. "IBM is preventing customers from using [TurboHercules] by tying IBM's mainframe operating system with IBM hardware," he says. However, he also notes that "we are not asking that IBM be subjected to punishing fines or anything like that." (IBM is already facing an inquiry by the U.S. Department of Justice [7] related to licensing of its mainframe software.)'

http://www.infoworld.com/d/the-industry-standard/has-ibm-turned-its-back-open-source-704

August 2009: "Did the European Commission overlook some evidence during its antitrust investigation of Intel that might have influenced the outcome of the decision, which went against the chipmaker? The European Union ombudsman believes that may have been the case, saying that EC investigators failed to include details of a meeting that presented one PC mantufacturer's decision to choose Intel CPUs as being purely performance based."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/08/ec-criticized-for-conduct-during-intel-investigation.ars

July 2009: "BERLIN — Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, filed an appeal Wednesday challenging the European Commission’s record €1.06 billion fine and ruling in May that it had abused its dominance in computer processors by offering rebates to computer makers who used more of its chips."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/23/technology/business-computing/23chip.html

May 2009: "The European Commission accused Intel of offering computer makers better deals if they would agree to sell products that relied solely on Intel’s processors or delay products that used chips made by Intel’s rival, Advanced Micro Devices. In addition, regulators said Intel paid a retailer to keep only Intel chips in stock."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/technology/business-computing/14chip.html

July 2008: "In addition, ministers will discuss a Brussels-drafted law, suggesting that all employers who hire undocumented entrants should be sanctioned. The European Commission believes that tougher penalties, along with an unified approach across the EU, are vital to crack down on clandestine migrants."

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2008/gb20080724_975265.htm

July 2008: "The European Commission will on Thursday (17 July) announce that it will launch inquiries into ringtone websites across Europe, as a result of an initial investigation that found that many are tricking consumers into expensive subscriptions when they thought they were downloading a single ringtone for free."

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jul2008/gb20080717_356591.htm

February 2008: 'When Microsoft announced on Thursday that it was changing its business practices to be more open — specifically to release documentation on its APIs and protocols — many people reacted with disbelief. The European Commission, which has battled Microsoft for a decade over anticompetitiveness, said in very blunt terms that it didn’t believe Microsoft was sincere. After all, Microsoft has made the “open” promise before but never delivered.'

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/02/25/09NF-microsoft-new-leaf_1.html?

October 2007: "Prejudices still linger throughout the continent, but they may be harshest in Italy, which has the highest number of nomads in Europe and has been cited by the European Commission as one of 14 countries still practicing discrimination against them. The Censis statistical agency estimates that there are 160,000 Rom in Italy, of whom only 30,000—those from Balkan countries and the former Yugoslavia—are illegal."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21150503/site/newsweek

Relationships

RoleNameTypeLast Updated
Owned by (partial or full, past or present) European Union, The (EU) Organization Oct 14, 2007
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) José Manuel Barroso Person Jun 1, 2011
Organization Head/Leader (past or present) Prime Minister Romano Prodi Person May 30, 2006

Articles and Resources

36 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 16]

Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Jan 03, 2013 Was The FTC Too Easy On Google? Too Hard? FTC will not take action on search practices

QUOTE: the FTC finally made an announcement regarding its investigation of Google for alleged anticompetitive conduct. The investigation is now closed. The Commission will not be pursing antitrust litigation, and Google escaped without fines, and will make some minor voluntary changes regarding its search business.... Google has agreed to change some of the business practices to resolve the FTC’s concerns including those related to patents and what the FTC alls its “misuse of patent protection to prevent competition.”

 WebProNews
Mar 11, 2012 How Cheap Should Books Be?

QUOTE: A looming lawsuit could solidify Amazon's dominance in the book business. That might be good for readers' wallets, but it also might be bad for readers in the long term. Here 's why.

 Atlantic Online, The (Atlantic Monthly)
Jan 23, 2012 Europe Weighs Tough Law on Online Privacy

QUOTE: Europe is considering a sweeping new law that would force Internet companies like Amazon.com and Facebook to obtain explicit consent from consumers about the use of their personal data, delete that data forever at the consumer’s request and face fines for failing to comply.

 New York Times
Dec 21, 2011 Foes of Hungary’s Government Fear ‘Demolition of Democracy’

QUOTE: Democracy here is dying not with a single giant blow but with many small cuts, critics say, through the legal processes of Parliament that add up to a slow-motion coup. And in its drift toward authoritarian government, aided by popular disaffection with political gridlock and a public focused mainly on economic hardship, Hungary stands as a potentially troubling bellwether for other, struggling Eastern European countries with weak traditions of democratic government.

 New York Times
May 23, 2011 In Europe, Rifts Widen Over Greece

QUOTE: Fissures among Europe’s currency partners are becoming even deeper and more widespread than was previously evident, raising new doubts about whether the group can resolve the regional debt crisis that has simmered for more than a year.

 New York Times
Apr 15, 2011 Google Faces Antitrust Complaints in Korea on Android Popularity

QUOTE: NHN Corp. and Daum Communications Corp… filed complaints against Google with the country’s Fair Trade Commission for blocking local phone carriers and manufacturers from embedding their search applications in devices using the Android operating system.

 Bloomberg News
Apr 05, 2011 Google Antitrust Investigation May Be On FTC’s Agenda

QUOTE: Google has done much to advance its laudable mission to “organize the world’s information,” but we’re concerned by a broadening pattern of conduct aimed at stopping anyone else from creating a competitive alternative.

 WebProNews
Jan 31, 2011 Europe's Carbon Emissions Trading -- Growing Pains or Wholesale Theft?

QUOTE: this month's mass theft of E.U. allowances (EUAs) from some national registries has gotten the broader carbon trading community very much up in arms. Many are blasting some nation members of the European Commission for not taking the threat seriously...

 New York Times
Apr 15, 2010 Has IBM turned its back on open source?

QUOTE: Consider the case of IBM versus TurboHercules, a tiny open source company trying to make a living selling mainframe emulator software. TurboHercules and its supporters claim that IBM is using its considerable patent muscle to stifle competition and browbeat the little company and, by extension, the open source community. IBM sees TuboHercules as a knockoff artist seeking to cash in on billions of dollars of Big Blue R&D and characterizes it as a Microsoft proxy.

 InfoWorld
Nov 04, 2009 Cuomo Files Federal Antitrust Suit Against Intel

QUOTE: ...New York’s attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo, filed a federal antitrust lawsuit Wednesday against Intel, the world’s largest chip maker.

 New York Times
Sep 01, 2009 Italy's end to employment discrimination has women crying foul

QUOTE: a public outcry arose when the Italian parliament recently ratified a new law ending discrimination in the retirement age between men and women – much of it from women's rights groups and labor unions.

 Christian Science Monitor
Aug 31, 2009 Europe’s Ban on Old-Style Bulbs Begins

QUOTE: Restrictions on the sale of incandescent bulbs begin going into effect across most of Europe on Tuesday in the continent’s latest effort to get people to save energy and combat global warming. But even advocates concede the change is proving problematic.

 New York Times
Aug 07, 2009 EC criticized for conduct during Intel investigation

QUOTE: Did the European Commission overlook some evidence during its antitrust investigation of Intel that might have influenced the outcome of the decision, which went against the chipmaker?

 Ars Technica
Jul 22, 2009 Intel Appeals Antitrust Ruling

QUOTE: Intel, the world’s largest chip maker, filed an appeal Wednesday challenging the European Commission’s record €1.06 billion fine and ruling in May that it had abused its dominance in computer processors by offering rebates to computer makers who used more of its chips....The appeal will not delay Intel’s payment of the $1.45 billion fine, the largest ever assessed in Europe in a market-dominance case.

 New York Times
Jul 16, 2009 A stacked deck: Online gambling in Europe

QUOTE: he European Union’s supposed single market, which the commission polices, is fractured over the issue [on-line gambling].

 Economist
Jul 16, 2009 European Subsidies Stray From the Farm

QUOTE: it [computer analysis] also showed that hundreds of millions of euros [for farm subsidies] are being paid to individuals and companies with little or no connection to traditional farming.

 New York Times
Jul 09, 2009 European Publishers Call on E.U. to Protect Copyright

QUOTE: Leading European newspaper and magazine publishers on Thursday called on the European Commission to strengthen copyright protection... The publishers said widespread use of their work by online news aggregators and other Web sites was undermining their efforts to develop an online business models...

 New York Times
May 13, 2009 A Ruling Against Intel, Unlikely to Drag It Down

QUOTE: [European regulators] finally reached a conclusion, punishing Intel with a record fine of 1.06 billion euros ($1.45 billion) for abusing its dominant position in the computer chip market. The European Commission accused Intel of offering computer makers better deals if they would agree to sell products that relied solely on Intel’s processors or delay products that used chips made by Intel’s rival, Advanced Micro Devices.

 New York Times
Jul 24, 2008 Italy to Jail Illegal Migrants: A new law makes undocumented migration a crime, punishable by up to four years in jail

QUOTE: According to media reports, the legislation will introduce a new criminal offence—"illegal immigration"—punishable by six to four years in prison. The law also states that property rented to an undocumented immigrant can be confiscated.The maximum period an immigrant can be kept in detention after illegally setting foot on Italian territory will be extended to 18 months—which is in line with EU-wide rules on returning non-EU nationals who do not or no longer fulfill the conditions for entry, stay or residence in a member state.

 BusinessWeek
Jul 17, 2008 Cracking Down on Ringtone Swindles: The EC says some Web sites trick customers seeking just a single ringtone into buying long-term subscriptions

QUOTE: The European Commission will on Thursday (17 July) announce that it will launch inquiries into ringtone websites across Europe, as a result of an initial investigation that found that many are tricking consumers into expensive subscriptions when they thought they were downloading a single ringtone for free.

 BusinessWeek

36 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 16]