EU presses for Intel anti-trust charge

Author: Tim Smalley
Published: 18th January 2007

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes is considering whether or not to take action against Intel.

According to a report on the Wall Street Journal (registration required), sources close to the Intel-AMD anti-trust case have revealed that European Union Investigators have asked Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes to formally charge Intel on the grounds of illegal business tactics.

An EU complaint filed by AMD in October 2000 claimed that the company's arch rival has its abused position as the dominant force in the CPU industry by using tactics designed to prevent healthy competition in the market.

The complaint stated that Intel was putting pressure on system builders by removing bulk discounts from system builders whose purchases of AMD products exceeded 20% of their overall chip purchases.

Ms. Kroes has asked for more information on Intel's activities in Europe before deciding whether or not to take action against the chip giant. If she chooses not to take action, the six year old case will be dropped.

The commissioner is treading carefully though, because charges against Intel could prove to be even more complex and controversial than the EU's ten year old antitrust case with Microsoft. Intel representative Chuck Mulloy told reporters that the company will fully cooperate with the EU's investigation. "We believe the investigation is continuing. We will continue to cooperate."