Google is facing a fine of up to £4billion as Europe prepares to file a high-profile anti-competition lawsuit against the internet giant . The EU has been investigating the US search engine for five years following complaints that it abuses its dominance in the continent - but proceedings have stalled on three previous occasions . Now the European Commission , the EU 's top antitrust authority , is asking companies who previously filed confidential complaints against Google for permission to publish them , so that officials can begin to build a case against the firm . If found to have been behaving unfairly , Google could be fined ten per cent of its annual revenues , which would be more than £4 billion based on last year 's performance . Facing huge fine : Google is facing a fine of up to £4billion as Europe prepares to file a high-profile anti-competition lawsuit against the internet giant . Shopping , comparison and travel companies are among those that have been contacted by the EU , The Wall Street Journal reports . US companies Microsoft and Trip Advisor are among those that have filed complaints against Google with the EU . A decision to file charges would kick start the EU 's most prominent antitrust suit since its ten year-long campaign against Microsoft Corp. - the firm was forced to pay out more than a £1billion in fines in 2012 . The specific document the EU is said to be preparing is referred to as a Statement of Objections . Once filed , it 's likely that a number of deeper investigations , counter-statements , and settlement discussions would ensue . If the search engine and the EU can not come to an agreement , then fines could be issued and restrictions placed on Google 's behavior . Leading investigation : New EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager has suggested she favours pursuing legal action against Google over pushing for a settlement . The company would then have the right to appeal the case to the highest European court . Even if it is settled without a huge fine , antitrust cases can be hugely disruptive for firm , as Microsoft discovered . The European Commission has also been investigating whether Google has been 'scraping ' content from rivals ' sites , and placing unreasonable restrictions on advertisers and software developers who do business with them . A 'preliminary view ' taken by the commission in March 2013 was that Google was abusing its dominant position in a number of areas . The company has denied any wrongdoing . Speaking in Berlin last week , Kent Walker , the company 's Senior Vice President & General Counsel , highlighted the 'painfully long list of unsuccessful Google products ' , including Google+ and Street View in Germany , as proof that competition laws were serving their purpose . Long-running dispute : Former EU antitrust chief Joaquin Almunia , above , made three unsuccessful attempts to resolve the dispute between Google and its European rivals . The EU 's investigation of complaints that Google abuses its dominance of the online search market to hurt rivals began in 2010 . The US company handles more than 90 per cent of Web searches in Europe - considerably higher than its share of the US market . Comparison-shopping sites claim that when consumers use Google to search for products online , Google positions results from Google Shopping prominently . The argument is that this relegates products from rival sites to positions lower down the search page , where they might not be seen . Margrethe Vestager , the EU 's new antitrust chief , has suggested she will pursue legal action rather than seek a settlement . Google and Commissioner Vestager ’ s predecessor , Joaquin Almunia , made three attempts to resolve the dispute , but in each case intense pressure by national governments , Internet rivals and privacy advocates scuppered the effort . The latest settlement proposed by Mr. Almunia fell apart following a series of interventions by powerful political players , including a letter from the economy ministers of France and Germany calling for greater concessions from Google , and protests from German publishing houses . In November the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for a possible breakup of Google , brushing aside an unusual series of objections from the US Congress that the move risked politicizing an antitrust investigation . Ms. Vestager met a month ago with Eric Schmidt , Google 's executive chairman . Last week , she indicated that her priority was to ensure that smaller Internet firms could compete with the industry 's giants .
EU has been investigating the US search giant 's practises for five years . The European Commission is also looking into whether Google uses its Android mobile operating system to favour its own shopping service in Europe, which would be illegal under antitrust rules.