Madam, - Pat Cox suggests that the EU Commission, in its dealings with monopolistic Microsoft, is now behaving like the infamous soldier who failed to realise that the war had ended (Opinion & Analysis, February 28th). In this battle it is Microsoft - and not the the Commission, as Mr Cox suggests - which fails to see the battle is over.
The commission won. Hands down. The dispute took almost 10 years to resolve because Microsoft resisted all attempts by the Commission to curtail its anti-competitive activities.
Battles between monopoly-inclined corporations and regulators such as the Commission will always be protracted because the corporations have to much to lose by "giving up their auld sins". But what really surprised me about the article is that you agreed to publish it in the first place. Mr Cox has a commercial relationship with Microsoft and was paid to make the case he did in the article you published. This was disguised by the tag at the end of the article which lamely said he "advises Microsoft, among other companies, on EU-US relations".
Opinion articles in your paper are welcome, especially when penned by those who genuinely believe what they say. Such articles submitted by former public representatives promoting the interests of those who pay them should be rejected by the editor. - Yours, etc,
COLM MAC EOCHAIDH,
Exchange Street Upper,
Dublin 8.