Google has agreed the outlines of a settlement with the European Commission in order to avoid formal anti-trust charges. EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told the Wall Street Journal that they had "reached a good degree of understanding" with Google based on its proposals. They will now start technical talks in order to reach a final agreement. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Google's proposed changes to its business covered the four areas of concerns cited by Almunia in May, but were not very detailed. The revised concessions focus on the presentation of search results, how reviews appear in the search results and adjustment or removal of some contractual restrictions. According to the WSJ, Almunia also raised a new concern, about possible dominance of the Android operating system, but he did not say whether the EC will open an investigation into this. He is expected to give further details on the Google talks at a press conference scheduled for 25 July.
