Microsoft has made a deal with the European Commission to resolve their differences over remedies imposed on the software giant for violating antitrust laws, the EU's competition chief said today.
"We made a deal that before the end of the month [May] we would reach an agreement. We are waiting for the Microsoft people to do their homework," European Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said.
Asked whether she would open a new process against Microsoft if it failed to act, Ms Kroes said: "It is too premature to say that."
"We continue to work hard with the commission to reach an agreement on full compliance with the decision," a spokesman for Microsoft in Brussels said.
The commission could fine Microsoft up to $5 million daily for failure to comply with sanctions imposed on it.
The commission, which polices competition in the 25-nation European Union, fined Microsoft €497 million on March 24th, 2004, and ordered it to change the way it does business.
The decision required Microsoft to make its ubiquitous Windows operating system available without Windows Media Player, so computer makers could buy alternative software, to play films and music, from RealNetworks and Apple.
It also ordered the company to share information with rival makers of servers used to run printers and retrieve files, an issue known as interoperability. The company was supposed to propose a trustee to monitor its compliance.
If the deal with Ms Kroes falls through, the commission could decide that Microsoft has taken enough time to comply with the decision and open a new procedure against the firm to fine it for non-compliance.