The European Commission showed no sign of backing down on its threat to impose fines of up to €5m ($6.25m) per day on Microsoft if the software giant does not comply with anti-competitive sanctions.

The European competition commissioner, Neelie Kroes, reiterated the June 1 deadline for Microsoft to comply with a ruling over access to its Windows operating system, which dominates the desktop market. “If it’s not met, it’s the end of the game,” she was quoted as saying. EU competition rules state a company can be fined up to 5 per cent of its turnover per day for anti-trust breaches.