EU ombudsman criticises Intel anti-trust probe

The European ombudsman has found the EC guilty of maladministration

The European ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has finished his consideration of a complaint raised by Intel concerning anti-trust claims, and ruled that the European Commission (EC) has been somewhat lacking in its investigations.

Intel complained that the EC had failed to take proper minutes during an interview with Dell executives that related to the case, and had coerced Dell into entering into an information sharing arrangement with AMD in which it would be given access to facts relating to the case.

Diamandouros agreed with the first suggestion, but not the last, explaining that the EC had been guilty of maladministration by not taking proper notes.

"I hope that my decision in this case will help the Commission to improve its administrative procedures by ensuring that its future anti-trust investigations are fully documented," he said.

However, Diamandouros stopped short of making a similar finding in relation to the second allegation, but did say that the EC had again failed in its administration by not recording a phone call between its investigators and Dell. He added that "proper notes" should be kept of all meetings and telephone calls.

The full decision can be found here.