The reaction of the EC to the Oracle announcement

The EC issued an press release in reaction to the Oracle announcment about Mysql - “Mergers: Commission welcomes Oracle’s MySQL announcement”:

The European Commission can confirm that it has engaged in constructive discussions with Oracle regarding the maintenance of MySQL as an important competitive force in the database market after Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems. Today's announcement by Oracle of a series of undertakings to customers, developers and users of MySQL is an important new element to be taken into account in the ongoing proceedings. In particular, Oracle's binding contractual undertakings to storage engine vendors regarding copyright non-assertion and the extension over a period of up to 5 years of the terms and conditions of existing commercial licenses are significant new facts. In this context, Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes recalls and confirms her statement of 9 December 2009 that she is optimistic that the case will have a satisfactory outcome, while ensuring that the transaction will not have an adverse impact on effective competition in the European database market.