Tech giant Apple looked to develop a “constructive and open dialogue” with the European Commission’s new competition chief, in an attempt to draw a line under years of bitter fighting over its tax arrangements, correspondence shows.
A legal battle between the iPhone maker and the commission, culminating in Apple being ordered to pay the State €13 billion in back taxes, came to define the tense relationship between Brussels regulators and US tech multinationals in recent years.
Internal documents show Apple made moves to reset its relationship with the EU, at the start of commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s second term at the top of the bloc’s powerful executive arm.
Apple and Microsoft both made efforts to get on the good side of the new EU commissioner for competition and climate transition, Teresa Ribera, who took over from Margrethe Vestager last December.
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Apple told Ms Ribera it was “eager to establish a constructive and open dialogue” on competition matters, in a January 9th letter seen by The Irish Times.
The US tech giant said it had been a “committed partner to Europe for 40 years” and was spending tens of billions of euros a year with European suppliers.
In a hugely significant 2016 competition case, the commission ordered Apple to pay Ireland more than €13 billion in back taxes, on the basis that favourable tax arrangements it had enjoyed in the Republic amounted to unfair aid to the tech company. Apple and the Government lost a years-long appeal challenging the decision last year.
The EU’s strict new digital regulations have become another flashpoint between Brussels and US tech firms.
Apple raised proceedings the EU executive was taking against the company during a March 12th meeting between Tim Cook, Apple chief executive, Ms Ribera, and several commission officials.
The meeting, which took place over a video call, discussed Apple’s “activities and interests” in the EU, according to the minutes. At the end of the call, Mr Cook and Ms Ribera agreed on “the importance of maintaining open channels of communication”, notes state.
The following month, Apple was fined €500 million by the commission, which deemed restrictions on app developers using the company’s App Store unfair and a breach of EU rules to guard against tech monopolies.
Separately, Microsoft told Ms Ribera’s top adviser that the company had built a “constructive” relationship with the previous competition commissioner, Ms Vestager.
“While we did not always agree, we were able to work together constructively to address concerns,” said the computing giant in a January 7th email.
Further correspondence from Nanna-Louise Linde, Microsoft’s vice-president for European government affairs, said the company was “acutely aware” of the responsibility on its online services to allow fair competition.
The December 6th letter to Ms Ribera, said Microsoft had “deep roots” in Europe and consistently advocated for close co-operation, to ensure Europe “remains an open, engaged and influential actor globally”.
Correspondence between the tech firms and the commission was released to The Irish Times following EU access-to-information requests.
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US president Donald Trump has frequently taken aim at EU rules, with the intention of pressuring Brussels to pare back measures affecting US firms.
Commission negotiators avoided making any concessions on the bloc’s tech regulations in the EU-US deal on trade tariffs agreed in recent weeks.
Returning to the topic, Mr Trump this week threatened to levy extra tariffs on countries that “discriminate” against US tech firms, through regulations or digital taxes.
The commission has defended its regime of digital regulations, stating that they are necessary to ensure platforms remove illegal content and that tech giants do not abuse their powerful positions to stifle competitors.
