(translation of a Greek FFII press release)

Athens, 1 February 2006. Yesterday's agreement between the Greek government and Microsoft is a blow in the use of open standards and therefore a barrier to the development of information society.

Microsoft is known for its monopoly tactics. Last November, four months after the rejection by the European Parliament of the related infamous proposal, Microsoft declared its intention to introduce software patents to Europe; software patents is a practice that is only of help to monopolies and has created large problems in the United States software market. A week ago, Brad Smith, head of Microsoft legal and corporate issues, denied delivering the interoperability documentation that had been demanded by the Commission, and promised instead to give access to the source code, which is not a sufficient substitute. Meanwhile, through several interest-promoting associations in which it participates, like CompTIA, BSA, ACT, EIF, etc., Microsoft continues to fight the regulations about open standards and interoperability.

"The importance of open standards and interoperability for the development of information technology and communications can be seen on the Internet," comments Antonis Christofides, who represents the FFII in Greece and Cyprus. "Its phenomenal development is due to the fact that it is founded entirely on open standards, like TCP/IP, HTTP, and HTML.

"It is sad that the Greek government rewards Microsoft's behaviour. While there are various, more effective and more economical, alternatives, the government selects, through intransparent procedures, to sign an agreement with the supplier whose harmful monopoly tactics have repeatedly attracted the Commission's attention."