EU appoints “Trustee” to ensure Microsoft compliance with ruling

In a typical heavy-handed gesture, the European Union Commission has appointed a trustee to oversee Microsoft’s compliance with last year’s rulings on “monopoly abuse”. According to the New York Times :

Neil Barrett, a computer scientist at Cranfield University in Britain, will monitor Microsoft’s compliance and report directly to the competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, Ms. Kroes said at a news conference. If Professor Barrett finds that Microsoft is not complying with the ruling, the company faces fines of as much as 5 percent of its global sales every day until it does comply. Ms. Kroes informed Microsoft’s chief executive, Steven A. Ballmer, of the appointment yesterday and said talks with him were “constructive,” covering “a broad range of subjects.” She gave no details.

Microsoft’s reaction was that it welcomed the appointment of the trustee. “We look forward to working constructively with him,” Microsoft’s Associate General Counsel for Europe, Horacio Gutiérrez, said in a statement.