Google has up to 90 percent European market share - a fact many EU politicians are unhappy with. While they seek to improve market regulation, they are not likely to break up the company. Bernd Riegert in Strasbourg, reports GHN based on DW.
The Internet giant's name isn't even mentioned in the European Parliament's draft motion. But everyone knows it is targeting Google.
In the EU, monopolistic search engines should be split up from other commercial services from the same company, the authors of the draft demand. Among the authors is European Parliament member (MEP) Andreas Schwab, a German Christian Democrat, and a lawyer from Baden Württemberg.
Schwab is not seeking to destroy Google. "There are various other problems in the European digital market," Schwab told DW in Strasbourg, one being that the market is too fragmented, as each of the 28 EU member states have their own rules and regulations for companies on the Internet.
"We have to come up with a playing field and rules that are the same for everyone," Schwab said. That would prevent monopolies like Google from coming into existence in the first place and dominating the market. In a number of EU countries, Google has a market share of 90 percent.
The EU Parliament resolution aims to create a more customer-friendly digital market. But companies, such as German newspaper publishers, might also have something to gain. Julia Reda, a MEP for the Pirate Party explained: "This is a pretty transparent attempt by the Christian Democrats to implement anancillary copyright for press publishers on the EU level," she said, adding that she would not be voting in favor of the resolution.