Last year's position : Not Placed

Last year, the EC's main representative on this poll was Commissioner Erkki Liikanen, with his telecoms and info society remit. But now Monti is in for his influence on ongoing legal proceedings against Microsoft. Will the EC go further than the US in pushing the courts to curb the software giant's practices? It's by no means certain, but this strong-willed Italian is nevertheless likely to have a continuing influence on the high-tech sector, shooting down mergers and putting in place frameworks for competition.