Kroes says Microsoft commitments will change the software industry

European Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes said today that the changes to its business practices that Microsoft has committed to "will profoundly affect the software industry" and will have repercussions in the sector "for years to come."

The US company agreed to comply with the 2004 EU decision that required the disclosure of technical information so that other software developers could create products compatible with Windows, the European Commission (EC) reported.

In a press conference, Kroes said that the "repercussions" of this commitment "begin today, but will continue for years."

According to the commissioner, the changes accepted by Microsoft confirm that when a company like the one founded by Bill Gates uses its market power to illegally eliminate competition, it is up to the company to "change its practices to allow competition and innovation to return to the market."

Kroes pointed out that, from today, the US giant "will no longer be able to take advantage of its market position to harm consumers."

He also noted that Microsoft will have to continue providing information about its new products, such as the Windows Vista operating system, and about those it develops in the future.

In her appearance, the commissioner explained how the talks between Brussels and Microsoft unfolded to enable the multinational to adapt to EU requirements, after the EU Court of First Instance confirmed approximately a month ago the decision made by the EC in 2004.

Microsoft can still appeal that court ruling, but Kroes said today that he had a "good feeling" that it will not.

The first contact after the Court's ruling took place in a restaurant in a town near The Hague, as revealed by the Dutch commissioner.

"For the past two or three weeks I have been in almost daily contact with Steve Ballmer (CEO of Microsoft)," explained Kroes, who described the talks as "very fruitful."

However, he criticized the US company's delay in complying with its obligations under the EU decision, a delay for which the EC imposed a daily fine on Microsoft to this day.

The EC will decide "as soon as possible" - Kroes noted - the amount of that fine, which could total several million euros and thus be added to the fines of 497 and 280 million that Microsoft has already paid.