Even if France and Scandinavian countries are leading the charge, European Commission officials are wary of forcing Apple to open up iTunes. According to Phillip Rowe, European Commission Director General of competition, "we wouldn't at this stage regard iTunes' inability to play back on devices other than the iPod as an instance of major concern until we've seen further market developments." Seems like EU doens't wanna make an enemy out of Steve Jobs and his camp.

The director general also added that if Apple is ahead of the mp3 race, this was due to the fact that they played the game fair and square. He mentioned that "Apple obtained its strong market position in open competition with many similar players, including some with their own web sites".

This was said amidst tremendous pressure from France and Scandinavian countries to open up iTunes song downloads to play on non-Apple music players. In the UK, consumer groups have begun campaigning against certain iTunes features such as DRM (digital rights management) while record label trade body the BPI also voices its concerns.

In response to EU's take, Norwegian ombudsman Bjorn Erik Thon says he will act soon against Apple, citing consumer law, but not before he has received a letter of explanation from the company.