A plan to appoint extra judges in the EU"s Microsoft case may delay and weaken European Commission sanctions against the software giant, critics of the company said on Monday. Microsoft and the European Commission had no comment on the delay, which the company"s detractor"s worry will give the firm more time to consolidate its dominance.
The European Commission found in March 2004 that Microsoft competed unfairly against rivals, fined it 497 million euros ($605 million) and ordered it to change some of its business practices. But the case has slowed to a crawl at the European Union"s Court of First Instance in Luxembourg since June 16, when the court president proposed transferring it to a special Grand Chamber including senior judges.