Google bids to end row with EU

Google has given EU regulators a new proposal to settle a nearly three-year-old EU antitrust probe into the way it operates its search services.

“We received new proposals from Google in the previous week,” EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said.

“If we are satisfied with the new proposals, we can advance toward an agreed solution in the coming months.”

Google’s previous offer to label its branded search services and show links to rival specialised search services was rejected by Almunia in July. Google rivals, including Microsoft, have urged the EU to seek tougher concessions from the company.

Almunia said: “Once we have completed our analysis, once we will check that these new proposals are able to eliminate our concerns, we will tell Google what to do.” He said the commission is also reviewing proposals from Samsung to resolve another antitrust case.

The agency is probing whether Google promotes its own specialist search services and copies rivals’ travel and restaurant reviews, and has agreements with websites and software developers that stifle competition.

“Our proposal to the European Commission addresses their four areas of concern,” Al Verney, a spokesman for Google said.