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I think it's naïve to believe these decisions are completely free of political considerations, and that the Commissioners responsible are merely the purest of heart rule implementers - on the contrary, I'd suggest that those at the upper echelons of EU decision making are by definition extremely sophisticated political operators; if not, how could they end up in a position of such power?

[simion314]

I do not understand how some people want free/fair market and at the same time you accept unfair practices like monopoly abuses or special deals or tricks to avoid taxes that only big companies can do, where is the fairness in the big players having advantage over smaller ones?

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That's not what I said. I'm saying it's naïve to think there is no political aspect to a decision to impose a fine of e.g. billions of euro. It's possible to both make this observation and to support the fine itself.

[simion314]

So, what is your point ? Is it correct to punish bad actors but not if it could have a possible political aspect to it?

I mean party leaders/ministers are put in jail when they do illegal things(though all of them complain it is a political attack), the point should be the facts, who was harmed and how to punish and prevent it to happen again if possible.

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Why does there have to be a point beyond what I've already made? Your post I responded to satirised the idea that there is anything but a legal component to the decision, then went on to assert that the decision was purely legal. If I have that wrong please correct me. Otherwise, I stick to my point - to portray the decision making behind these fines as purely legal is similarly one-dimensional as portraying them as being purely driven by European envy of the US.

Apart from that I am quite happy to be free of supposed tech giants' 'innovation' when that involves them selling my personal information to whoever they choose and so support the EU from that aspect, but at the same time I have a sneaking suspicion that the rules would be less zealously applied if the tech giants were European. VAG seem to have got off pretty easily for the emissions scandal. Do you seriously believe that if a European company is threatened with EU fines that that country's leaders will not be on the phone to Brussels, and that these calls will not have an impact, moreso than a similar call from outside the EU?

[simion314]

I mean what politicians are behind this? Do you think that some party has to gain by this? Or is just anti american and big European companies enjoy preferential treatment?

[addicted]

That’s just a complete straw man.

There is no one who thinks politicians make decisions without politics. I mean, the word is in the name.

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I was replying to a post that seemed to me to emphasise the primacy of the law in the decision; having worked in Brussels I'd say there's little the Commission does that is not political. I'm honestly not trying to straw man.