By STEPHEN CASTLE
THE NEW YORK TIMES

PARIS -- In a case reminiscent of their legal battle with Microsoft, European Union antitrust regulators accused Intel on Friday of abusing its leading position in the market for computer chips to try to drive out competitors.

The European Commission said it had sent a a statement of objections to Intel, asserting that the company used big cash rebates and other incentives to customers to try to undermine its main rival, AMD. Both companies, which are based in California's Silicon Valley, have large operations in Europe.

The rebates were "such a quantity, of such an amount" that they forced efficient rivals to price below cost, an EU spokesman, Ton van Lierop, said in Brussels, Belgium. "We think that the actions of Intel are bad news for competition and for consumers," he said, according to news agencies.

The commission in 2004 found Microsoft guilty of abusing its dominant position with the Windows operating system and ordered changes that went well beyond an earlier settlement with the U.S. Justice Department.

An EU court is expected to rule on Microsoft's appeal of that decision in September.

Competition lawyers contrasted the commission's assertive stance with a more laissez-faire attitude in the United States, saying the EU position underlined a desire to be seen as a defender of the consumer by shifting attention from merger reviews to more of a focus on monopoly and cartel issues.

On Friday all leading parties in the dispute claimed to be acting on behalf of computer buyers, including Intel, which said its conduct had been "lawful, pro-competitive, and beneficial to consumers."

Jens Drews, the AMD director of government relations for Europe, responded, "For Intel to present itself as the champion of the consumer is like the fox saying he's the natural guardian of the hens."

The charges announced Friday are the culmination of a lengthy inquiry that led to dramatic dawn raids in five countries in 2005. The European Commission said Intel, the world's largest maker of microprocessors, had deliberately offered computer manufacturers inducements to favor its products over those from AMD as part of "a single overall anti-competitive strategy."

In a statement, the commission said its preliminary conclusion was that Intel had given rebates to customers who bought its goods and had offered incentives to those that delayed or canceled the introduction of product lines incorporating chips made by their rival.

In addition, it said Intel had offered microchips for computer servers at prices below cost.

Intel maintained that the discount program was not illegal and did not distort competition. In fact, Intel said that the discounts helped consumers by offering them lower prices.

Intel has 10 weeks to respond to the allegations and can request an oral hearing. If judged guilty, fines up to 10 percent of annual turnover could be levied.

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