"No" of European Publishers - Reuters

Into Newspapers and associations have prepared a joint document that highlights the limits and problems, asking the EU Commission for the immediate rejection

Into With a joint action coordination and unprecedented collaboration, hundreds of major European publishers of newspapers and periodicals and their associations at European and national level have prepared a joint document that highlights the limitations and weaknesses of the commitments proposed by Google, requesting an immediate rejection, and reiterating the need to adopt a “Statement of Objections” necessary step for the continuation of the European survey.

Into On 25 April 2013, Google introduced a series of “remedies” that the European Commission has submitted to the cd market test, ie the assessment and collection of observations and comments from stakeholders. The applicants and interested parties were invited to participate by the Commission by 27 June, by sending comments to the proposals of Google.

Into The associations of German Newspaper Publishers (BDZV) and periodic (VOZ) – with the support of European trade associati ons (Enpa, EMMA, EPC and OPA) and 18 national associations (including, for Italy The FIEG) – have posted to the Vice President of the European Commission and EU Commissioner for Competition Joaquin Almunia, a document that highlighted the point of view of European Publishers on the proposals presented by Google in order to block the procedure abuse dominant position open in the EU.

Into “I express appreciation for the spirit of cooperation between European publishers and confidence in the prompt intervention of the European institutions”, said Giulio Anselmi, chairman FIEG, which is a signatory to the joint position, commented on the presentation of the document ‘common European publishers, which is also the location of Italian publishers of newspapers and periodicals. “If Google does not soon present proposals for improvements substantially, European publishers claim that the Commission should use all legal powers, including an immediate St atement of Objections providing effective remedies. A search made with fair and non-discriminatory criteria impartial with respect to all websites is an essential prerequisite for the development of media and information technology at the European level. ”

Into Helmut Heinen, president of the Association of German Newspaper Publishers (BDZV), which is among the applicants European antitrust investigation, said: “At a minimum, Google has to submit all the services, including their own, the same criteria, using exactly the same mechanisms for analysis, indexing, sorting and presentation of the same algorithms. Google, without prior consent, you must not use third-party content beyond what is really necessary for navigation in the horizontal search. ”

Into The EU Commission, in its preliminary findings, believes that Google’s actions create a “potential harm to consumers in terms of reduced choice, quality and innovation.” The Commiss ion also states that it is crucial to act now so that Google’s dominant position in the European market for web search (over 90%) does not preclude the possibility of entry of other competitors.

Into The President of the Spanish Association of Newspaper Publishers (AEDE), Luis Enriquez, also among the applicants, he adds: “The remedies offered by Google do not solve the general problems and damage essential that the conduct of Google results in the Search in the market and those related to it, and none of these remedies is to restore effective competition. The remedies proposed to impose restrictions on Google insignificant that at most only slightly alter his behavior but would not have any practical effect on the market structure. In some cases it may even make things worse by making more stable the domain of Google and deceiving consumers. Therefore we all believe that to restore competition in a dysfunctional market are justified and needed the most effec tive remedies, including structural measures. ”

Into ( ??TMNews )