EU court adviser backs Intel appeal against record EU fine

By Pia Oppel LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - Intel's fight against a record 1.06 billion euro ($1.16 billion) EU antitrust fine received a boost on Thursday when an adviser to Europe's top court questioned whether the U.S. chipmaker's actions had really harmed competition. The opinion from Advocate General Nils Wahl at the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) is a rare setback for the European Commission, underlining the tough battle ahead as it takes on Apple, Google and Amazon in various competition cases. "Intel's appeal against the imposition of a 1.06 billion euro fine for abuse of its dominant position should be upheld. The case should be referred back to the General Court for a fresh review," Wahl said in a non-binding recommendation. The General Court rejected Intel's challenge two years ago, saying that the European Commission had not acted too harshly in handing down the record sanction amounting to 4.15 percent of Intel's 2008 turnover against a possible maximum of 10 percent. The ECJ, which usually follows the adviser's opinion in the majority of cases, is expected to rule in the coming months. Wahl said the General Court failed to establish that the rebates and payments offered by Intel were anti-competitive and that certain deals between the company and Lenovo harmed European consumers. The fine remains the largest for a single company for an EU antitrust infringement. The European Commission penalised Intel in 2009 for tactics aimed at stifling rival Advanced Micro Devices, including giving rebates to PC makers Dell, Hewlett-Packard Co, NEC and Lenovo for buying most of their computer chips from Intel. (Reporting by Pia Oppel, writing by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)