Ballmer to meet EU regulators next week

Associated Press reports : BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) – Microsoft Corp.’s chief executive, Steve Ballmer, will meet with the European Union’s antitrust chief next week, her spokesman said Friday, as the world’s biggest software company appeals a March 2004 ruling by EU regulators. Neelie Kroes planned to meet Ballmer over breakfast Wednesday to discuss general antitrust issues, EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said. Earlier this month, Kroes said her department had received new informal complaints about Microsoft, perhaps leading to the opening of a new case.”

Microsoft affirms that this is a regular meeting with EU regulators and has no specific agenda :

“It is part of the regular dialogue between Microsoft and the Commission on a range of policy issues,” company spokesman Tom Brookes said. EU regulators ruled last year that Microsoft had abused its near monopoly in desktop computer systems to illegally dominate the media software market and threaten the position of competitors selling office networking software.