Last year, the Commission struck Apple with a fine of 1.8 billion euros for the same driving which was penalized on Wednesday and, also last year, ordered the company to spit 13 billion euros in unpaid Irish taxes after a long -standing judicial case.
“There is a philosophical difference between Apple and the Commission here which makes Apple very difficult to make compromises,” said Zach Meyers, research director at the Center on Europe (Cerre), a reflection group based in Brussels.
The fight against Apple, a company worth almost 4 dollars, has become symbolic of the confrontation between the United States and the EU. While the law on digital markets (DMA), under which the Commission imposed the fine on Wednesday, aims to limit the domination of the largest technological companies – most of which happen to be American – Trump considers them as a tool to strangle the American industry.
Wednesday’s action follows a 90 -day suspension of Trump’s “reciprocal” prices, while the two parties seek to mitigate tensions. The Commission could not escape the accusations that the time of decision, if not more, was influenced by trade tensions.
However, the American announcement in February that it would examine the digital laws of the EU, including the DMA, to see if it is equivalent to a non -tariff barrier, was not a factor in the decision -making of the Commission, according to a senior official.
The deadline of June 22 given to Apple to comply with the decision on Wednesday, after which the commission can start to issue daily fines, will come a few weeks before the expiration of the 90 -day price break.
