EU: Almunia jokes about Google’s probable missed deadline for settlement proposal

Despite a recent meeting between Google CEO and European Commissioner Joaquin Almunia that reportedly ended in an agreement for Google to propose a settlement agreement with the Commission by the end of January, Almunia has said that “talks were continuing” between the two parties. Google has been under investigation by the Commission since November of 2011 after allegations accused the search giant of abuse of dominance in the way it displays its search results. Almunia seemed to joke about the further delay in a press briefing on Wednesday, though there is no legal deadline for Google to propose its settlement. In the press briefing, Almunia acknowledged that, since it’s the end of the month, he “can’t imagine the proposals are flying in. Possibly by express post.” His lighthearted nature about the situation seems to counter previous reports that Almunia and the Commission would not go as easy on Google as the US had, as the Federal Trade Commission decided to end its investigation into Google late last year.