The group of 11 companies, led by British online shopping service Foundem, sent the letter last week imploring European authorities to make progress in the investigation against Google which began in November 2010.

'Settlement discussions'

Tech Week Europe reports that the letter – which was sent to EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia – said: ‘We are becoming increasingly concerned that effective and future-proof remedies might not emerge through settlement discussions alone.’
The case against Google centres on alleged search manipulation, whereby Google promotes its own services above competitors.
As well as Foundem, the letter was signed by leaders of Streetmap, Twenga, Visual Meta, Hot Maps and Euro-Cities. It was also signed by leaders inside two US-based companies, Expedia and TripAdvisor, and by directors of three German publishing associations.

Survival

Heiko Hanslick, president of the German Association of Independent Directors, told the International Herald Tribune: ‘Google is exploiting its market position here in Europe and many, many online retailers will not be able to survive if this isn’t fixed.’
A Google spokesman in Brussels declined to comment directly on the letter, but said that Google ‘continues to work cooperatively with the European Commission.
According to Tech Week, a guilty verdict against Google on antitrust grounds could see the company fined up to 10 per cent of its annual revenue, which based on its 2011 annual results, would be in the region of $4 billion.