The European Commission is relaxing rules on how Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) must comply with an earlier ruling that it broke competition regulation. In 2004, the commission fined Microsoft €497 million (£442 million) for tying Media Player to Windows and for failing to support server interoperability. It told Microsoft to offer Windows without Media Player and to disclose server documentation - orders that have, until now, been monitored by a commission-appointed trustee.

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Today, the commission, in its release, said it “no longer requires” the full-time trustee and will instead call on the “ad hoc assistance of technical consultants”, who will advise merely “from time to time”. The commission said it was taking the move because Microsoft had already published the server information and because third parties now had more rights to take Microsoft to court. This is no way removes the ongoing compliance obligation on Microsoft but, especially since Windows Xp is no longer sold, the trustee’s continued employment seemed doubly unnecessary. Still, the EC will keep a watching brief - 12 months ago, it fined Microsoft a further €899 million for failing to comply fully with these very obligations.