“Google Inc. (GOOG) submitted an offer to European Union regulators in a bid to settle a probe into whether the world’s largest search engine operator discriminates against rivals, the EU’s antitrust chief said.
“It has arrived,” EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters in Brussels today. He said his officials would now study the proposal.
Almunia had asked Google to submit concessions by the end of January to address allegations that the company promotes its own specialist search-services, copies rivals’ travel and restaurant reviews, and has agreements with websites and software developers that stifle competition in the advertising industry. He first told Google in May that he wanted to settle the case.
Google sent a “detailed proposal,” said Antoine Colombani, a spokesman for Almunia. He said he couldn’t anticipate if the offer was sufficient to allay antitrust concerns or whether it would be sent to rivals and customers for comments. If this market test is successful, the EU can make the commitments legally binding. Such a settlement would avoid possible fines against the Mountain View, California-based company.
Google continues “to work co-operatively with the commission,” the company’s Brussels-based spokesman Al Verney said in an e-mailed statement.
