EU Commission: no decision yet in the Intel case

The EU Commission has emphasized that investigations in its proceedings against Intel for restraint of competition are still going ahead at full speed. It is denying a report in the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) that a provisional decision has already been reached. An EU Commission spokesman is quoted as saying the report is misleading and the Commission will reveal its decision as soon as possible.

The FTD reported that Neelie Kroes, the Commissioner for Competition, had already made an internal decision to punish Intel for abuse of market power, and that the group would be prohibited from marketing its processors to PC manufacturers at discounted prices. Nor, said the report, would the group be allowed to subsidise dealers' advertising costs when Intel asked for exclusive presentation. The story claimed that Intel would have to reckon on a fine of up to €2.6bn.

(trk)