Brussels, September 21:

A public row between European Union (EU) and US anti-monopoly officials over Monday’s Microsoft ruling broke out yesterday when Neelie Kroes, the EU competition commissioner, hit back at criticism from the US.

Monday’s ruling from the EU’s court of first instance dismissed Microsoft’s appeal against a finding of monopoly abuse. The ruling prompted the US department of justice assistant attorney general for antitrust, Thomas Barnett, to express concern that the legal standard the EU court hadset had ‘the unfortunate consequence of harming consumers by chilling innovation and discouraging competition’.

Yesterday Kroes hit back, “I think it’s totally unacceptable that a representative of the US administration criticises an independent court outside its jurisdiction.” The EU would not ‘pass judgment on a ruling by the US courts.