The EU has recently postponed itsappleThe penalties imposed on the company and Meta Platforms have temporarily averted a conflict with the Trump administration. Just this week, the alliance stepped up efforts to reach a trade deal with the United States. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, initially planned to announce a cease-and-desist order against the tech giants on Tuesday and has told at least one of the companies about the timeline, people familiar with the matter said. Both companies could have also been fined.
The delay in announcing the decision came shortly before EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic met with U.S. officials in Washington on Monday. This is Sefcovic's first face-to-face meeting with the United States since President Trump announced a 90-day suspension of some tariffs. In addition, Italian Prime Minister Meloni met with Trump this week, and Trump said that there would be "no problem" in reaching a trade agreement with the EU.
Those rulings are still expected to take place, but it's unclear how long the delay might last.
Asked about the cases on Tuesday, a European Commission spokesman told reporters that no date had been announced but that technical work had been completed. "We are currently working towards adopting a final decision shortly," the spokesperson said.
The European Commission said on Friday it would not comment on its internal plans.
Both Meta and Apple's cases relate to alleged violations of the European Union's Digital Markets Act, a law designed to make it easier for smaller companies to compete with big tech rivals. The European Commission launched an investigation in March 2024 and published preliminary findings on the two cases last summer.