Apple buckles under EU pressure

The maker of the popular iPod media players had been under investigation since April by EU authorities after a British consumer group complained that Apple and major record companies were unfairly restricting the choice and cost of downloads from the US company's European music stores.

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes welcomed the agreement, saying it would "allow consumers to benefit from a truly single market for music downloads" across the 27-nation bloc.

EU regulators opened a probe into iTunes last year. They alleged distribution agreements Apple signed to sell music from its online stores in EU countries contained territorial restrictions which violated EU competition rules because consumers can only download music from the iTunes store in their country of residence.

Downloaders have to provide a credit card issued by a bank with an address in the country where they live.

Britain's Consumers' Association, Which?, filed a complaint with EU regulators in 2004 complaining that British customers of iTunes downloads had to pay more than those in France or other iTunes stores in countries using the euro currency.

Apple said it would introduce a new pricing policy for British based iTunes consumers and will "soon pay the same for music downloads from iTunes as customers from the euro-zone countries," the European Commission said.

It added that it has now closed the case against Apple's iTunes operation.

The EU executive office added however that there is "no agreement" between Apple and major record companies on how iTunes stores are organised in Europe, notably on allowing consumers to download music from an iTunes store outside their country of residence.

Apple has insisted it has to keep in place national iTunes stores due to stringent copyright restrictions set up by record labels.

The company has said it has tried to get record labels to lift such restrictions so it can set up a single iTunes store for all of Europe.

- AP