July 1 - 4:00pm EDT   The previously promised cap on roaming rates for phone calls made from cellular devices went into effect today. The European Commission-mandated cap applies to calls made throughout the 27-country union, and is estimated to save consumers as much as 60 percent in cellular phone bills. The new limits will drop the price of making a call in a country other than one's home to the equivalent of 61 cents per minute, excluding sales tax, from 65 cents. Receiving calls will fall from 31 cents to 27 cents. [full story]

June 12 - 8:45am EDT   Microsoft's decision to pull Internet Explorer from Windows 7 in Europe isn't enough to address EU antitrust complaints about the company's abuse of the market, the European Commission said Friday. The continent's officials now say that Microsoft's proposed solution would actually hurt competition as it would leave the five percent of those buying retail copies of Windows each year with few options. Instead of having an immediate choice, buyers would have to resort to obtaining a physical copy of a web browser or else some alternative. [full story]

June 11 - 1:30pm EDT   Windows 7 will ship to Europe without a copy of Internet Explorer, a leak has revealed this afternoon. Since confirmed by Microsoft, text obtained by CNET shows that PC builders will have to include a browser themselves, including Microsoft's, and will have the option of installing more than one. The new version should be titled Windows 7 E and would ship both to all EU countries as well as Croatia and Switzerland. [full story]

May 26 - 8:45am EDT   The European Commission today pressed music labels on switching to a Europe-wide licensing strategy for music that would let Apple and others run stores for the entire continent. Citing early agreements with EMI as well as French agency SACEM, antitrust Commissioner Neelie Kroes argues that labels need to follow suit and switch from their current country-by-country approach, which forces iTunes and other stores to segregate their audiences and musicians to collect pay through local agencies rather than a single source. [full story]

May 21 - 4:55pm EDT   After being granted two extensions to respond to anti-trust allegations against it in Europe regarding its web browser, Microsoft has now cancelled its oral hearing scheduled for the start of June. In a Thursday blog post, Microsoft's Associate General Counsel David Heiner explains a number of the key decision-makers in the matter won't attend, as the date coincides with the International Competition Network (ICN) meeting in Zurich. [full story]

May 13 - 7:50am EDT   The European Commission today gave Intel a 1.06 billion Euro ($1.45 billion) fine for its alleged antitrust violations in the computer market. The fine is the largest ever applied by the EC against a company and is prompted by serious accusations hinted at in a late leak. Regulators charge that Intel sabotaged AMD's chances in the market place since 2002 by paying PC makers to either cancel or delay AMD-based systems, giving them illegal incentives to limit the number of AMD systems they sell, and paying at least one major retailer to stock only Intel-based models. [full story]

May 11 - 10:45am EDT   Sources said late yesterday that the European Commission will rule against Intel on Wednesday for its purported anti-competitive behavior versus AMD. Those aware of the case have told Reuters that the Commission will not only issue a fine but force Intel to change the way it sells processors in Europe. Intel's attempts to hinder AMD's success were "naked," according to the tip. [full story]

May 11 - 7:00am EDT   Microsoft this weekend claimed Google's internet browser, Chrome, will be given more market dominance should the European Commission continue with its antitrust charges against Microsoft. The company expects Opera and Mozilla, each of which have agreements in place with Google, will default their browsers to the Google search engine. According to the FT, this claim was contained within Microsoft's written appeal to the EC. [full story]

May 7 - 8:05am EDT   Mozilla and Opera on Thursday criticized Microsoft over settings in the Windows 7 release candidate that they claim are designed to be anti-competitive. The two web browser developers point out to FT that users who opt to upgrade to Windows 7 from Vista rather than install fresh are given an "express" option that automatically reverts the default browser to Internet Explorer even if Firefox, Opera or another browser was set as the default before. Although the "custom" choice lets users maintain this setting, Mozilla and Opera argue that Microsoft is hoping most users won't be aware of this or that it will be considered too much extra work. [full story]

May 4 - 1:30pm EDT   A date has been set for Microsoft to defend itself against European antitrust charges, Reuters reports. Between June 3rd and the 5th, representatives for Microsoft are expected to testify in a closed hearing before the European Commission, elaborating on the outlines of a written response submitted on April 28th. The company was originally ordered to reply by March 12th, but was granted two extensions, first to April 21st and then the 28th. [full story]

April 27 - 1:10pm EDT   Last week, the European Parliament has extended music copyrights from 50 to 70 years, just in time to keep early rock-and-roll songs out of the public domain, according to a Monday Ars Technica report. The move will allow bands such as the Beatles and some 1950s bands to avoid having songs fall into the public domain. At the same time, Parliament asked the European Commission to launch an assessment of movie copyrights by January 2010, which could see their copyrights extended as well. [full story]

April 22 - 7:45pm EDT   The European Union has prepared a draft decision in an ongoing antitrust case against Intel that appears to be approaching completion, according to the Wall Street Journal. Unnamed sources familiar with the matter claim the EU will seek a fine against the company, although the draft can be modified as it continues through the process. [full story]

April 22 - 4:05pm EDT   District of Columbia Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly today extended the oversight of Microsoft's compliance with an antitrust ruling by 18 months to May 12th, 2011. The move follows a Department of Justice request for a second extension and comes supported by Judge Kollar-Kotelly after she determined that the ability to watch Microsoft's actions was in a "much better place" than when an extension was signed late last year. [full story]

April 22 - 11:55am EDT   The European Union Parliament today voted in favor of a plan from the European Commission to cap roaming rates for cellular service in any of its member states. The motion takes effect July 1st and will particularly cut data and text messaging costs. Internet access out-of-country will be limited to €1 per megabyte at wholesale rates, or far less than the €1.63 charged today. Text messaging will also drop sharply with individual messages costing no more than €0.11 versus an average of €0.28. [full story]

April 15 - 3:40pm EDT   Microsoft today said it had been given a second extension by the European Commission to prepare a response against antitrust charges that it has unfairly controlled web browsers. Having already been given a first extension that gave it until April 21st, the American firm has until April 28th to provide its own stance and early defense against the claims. Why the added time is required hasn't been formally explained. [full story]