In Monty Python’s satirical Life of Brian an angry dissident demands: “What have the Romans ever done for us?” A fellow plotter, innocently taking his question at face value, responds with a long list of Roman achievements, including aqueducts, roads, schools and, above all, public order – in essence, all the trappings of a civilised society.

Perhaps Nicolas Sarkozy was confusing ancient Rome with the Treaty of Rome when the French president recently asked his Pythonesque question: what has competition ever done for us? With judgment due on September 17 in Microsoft’s appeal against the European Commission’s €497m ($675m, £335m) fine for alleged abuses of its dominant position in operating systems, it is a fitting time to take up his challenge. The question is ripe because the judgment may guide European competition policy for years to come. Is it regulation that has delivered advanced technological innovations, from desktop, to iPod, to do-everything mobile phones – or is it competition?