Bonum Certa Men Certa

Musical Chairs in The European Commission

Bush and Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy with Laura Bush



Siim Kallas - GWB
Siim Kallas with George Bush



Summary: Seats swapped and some familiar figures depart as a new generation of regulators is to be installed

A WEEK ago we warned that the European Commission keeps getting filled with Microsoft cronies.



This observation is also being made by Free software companies and it is based on evidence. Based on the latest changes from Barroso (see [1, 2]), Kores is to be sort of demoted which is good news to Microsoft.

The new Competition Commissioner will be Joaquin Almunia.

European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia, a Spanish Socialist known for tackling countries’ deficits, will be antitrust chief in the next European Commission, succeeding Neelie Kroes.

As competition commissioner, Almunia, 61, will be responsible for ensuring that companies don’t abuse market positions or unlawfully collude to fix prices. He will also rule on mergers and acquisitions in the 27-nation bloc.


From IDG News Service:

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announced on Friday how he wants to allocate dossiers in his next five-year term in office. His team comprises one Commissioner from each of the 27 member states of the E.U., who were selected by national heads of government over the past month.

Other choices include Neelie Kroes in Reding's old job. Kroes was competition commissioner for the past five years. During that time she fought Microsoft in the long-running antitrust battle which looks set to end as Microsoft appears willing to settle.


There is more information in the Wall Street Journal and while Siim Kallas stays, he is not the only one worth watching.

Other servants of Microsoft's interests (like Charlie McCreevy and Nicolas Sarkozy [1, 2]) are mentioned in the news.

Sarkozy Wins Bid to Install Ally as EU Financial-Services Chief



French President Nicolas Sarkozy won his bid to install an ally as the European Commission’s next financial-services regulator, fueling British concern that traders and hedge funds will face stricter rules.

[...]

French officials have pushed for tighter regulations on hedge funds than has outgoing internal-markets chief Charlie McCreevy of Ireland and criticized him for not responding forcefully enough to the financial crisis. The U.K., seeking to protect its financial-services industry, has tried to weaken proposed rules for hedge funds and private-equity managers.


He has actually done far worse things.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Morale at Microsoft Sinking, More Layoffs Expected, Stock Buybacks Blasted
controversial because they should really be illegal
The Kubecost Acquisition Does Not Show IBM is Rich, It Shows It Wants to Distract From Mass Layoffs Happening This Week (Thousands Laid Off in the Dark)
So-called "news deserts" have become a national and international phenomenon (not local/regional)
Mass Layoffs at IBM Today, Just Like Prominent Rumours Said Upfront
past couple of hours
 
Links 18/09/2024: Gaming Layoffs and New Openwashing by Linux Foundation
Links for the day
Gemini Links 18/09/2024: Home, Ashram, and Markdoc
Links for the day
[Meme] Think. Positive. Saturate the Media.
IBM: Layoffs? What layoffs?
IBM Has Been Lobbying for Software Patents, It's Not the Free Software Community's Ally
The ancient company has been lobbying for these patents for decades already
Over Half a Day Later the Media Still Doesn't Cover Thousands of Layoffs at IBM
Not even a single news site bothered to investigate and report this? Not even one?
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 17, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 17, 2024
IBM Befriends and Exploits the Biggest Enemy of Software Freedom (Software Patents)
Software Patents and IBM in Today's News
Many Workers Quietly Leave Microsoft, the Company is Running Out of Money (Too Much Debt and Now Massive Buybacks to Keep the Shares From Collapsing While Hiding Humongous Losses)
I've heard of people who just decided to quit Microsoft. They could not handle the anxiety.
Links 17/09/2024: Volkswagen Layoffs May Exceed 15,000, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Arrested
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/09/2024: Re-framing of Priorities and Journalists
Links for the day
The Linux Foundation is Associating Linux With Scams and With Scam Sites Right Now (Like the Wife of Jim Zemlin Did)
they profit from the sellouts
Google's YouTube Already Blocking People Who Block Ads
YouTube feels like it's dying
Links 17/09/2024: More on Microsoft Cuts and XBox Backward Compatibility Issues
Links for the day
IBM is Acting No Better Than Patent Trolls, Preying on Smaller Companies by Suing Them With Software Patents
No Red Hat employee should tolerate this aggression by the employer
Something Has Gone Very Wrong at iTWire
"iTWire has descended into marketing spam"
The Hallmark of a Dying Company Running Low on Money (But Still Trying to Hide That)
Microsoft should look into selling red markers
UEFI 'Secure' Boot Has Put Security at Risk, Suggests New Report
We're vindicated once again
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 16, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, September 16, 2024
Links 17/09/2024: China Sanctions and Breadth of Latest Microsoft Layoffs Elaborated Upon
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/09/2024: Small Improvements in Carbon Capture and Pseudo-Productivity In Java
Links for the day
'Open'AI Looks Like a Company Headed Towards Bankruptcy, Not IPO, Losses Grew Almost Tenfold in a Year (Yes, it's Just a Bubble Facilitated by Artificial Hype)
This isn't going to end well, especially not for Microsoft
Apple is Canceling Products, Services, Even Lays Off Staff in Large Numbers Every Few Months
Apple cancelling some more things
Later on Elon Musk Wonders Why Large Nations Block His Pet 'Social Control Media' (Incitement/Radicalisation) Platform...
This isn't a question of "censorship" because there's a call to kill
Microsoft: Layoffs Are Growth
Orwell would have loved this newspeak
Links 16/09/2024: Verizon Layoffs, 'Tram Driver Olympics', and Anniversary of Mahsa Amini's Death
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/09/2024: ROOPHLOCH and MyGemini.Space
Links for the day
Invidious Instances Explain What Google/YouTube (Alphabet/Pentagon) Did To Them This Past Week
They're unambiguous about this
Dr. Richard M. Stallman (RMS) on How to Make People Care About Free Software and Why Prohibiting Proprietary Software Would Not Work
"maybe a similar general approach could work with non-Free software as a way of discouraging it from being a successful business."
Please Quit Uploading Event Talks (Especially of Free Software) to YouTube
This is enshittification
Links 16/09/2024: Shrinking Economy, Climate Issues, Soaring Energy Costs
Links for the day
'Former' Microsofter Jason Perlow Left Linux Foundation
The "communication" people from the Linux Foundation are basically scammers
MyGem Launched to Make Adoption of Gemini Protocol (With Gemini Hosting) a Lot Easier
a new week and also a new capsule
Disregard for History is Disregard for (Computer) Science
They're killing the real entrepreneurs and innovators
Dr. Richard M. Stallman (RMS) on His Hobbies and Health
Answering a question from the audience in Germany
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 15, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, September 15, 2024
Gemini Links 16/09/2024: billsmugs.com Becomes rainywhile.net, Zaurus on Internet
Links for the day