Google seemingly close to settling EU antitrust case

Google looks like it’s about to skate it yet another antitrust probe. The Wall Street Journal reports that Joaquín Almunia, who serves as the European Union’s competition commissioner, said on Tuesday that Google’s latest settlement offer had brought it much closer to striking a deal to end the EU’s antitrust investigation. Although the Journal doesn’t get into specifics about what Google has offered in its latest proposal, it does say that any antitrust settlement would let the EU “monitor Google and… fine it as much as 10% of its annual world-wide revenue” if it breaks the agreement. The EU had previously rejected a proposed settlement from Google this past summer where the company pledged to clearly label its own services in web results and to retrieve links to rival services on its search page. Almunia said he was hopeful that Google’s latest settlement offer would lead to a final agreement by early next year.