It may still be too early for Oracle, a leading maker of database hardware and software products, to break out the champagne and celebrate. But the US company has reason enough to be happy: The European Union has signaled a shift in its opposition to Oracle's planned $7.4 billion (5 billion euro) acquisition of rival hardware and software vendor Sun Microsystems.

For months, Oracle has struggled to convince the European Commission that the company would not undermine competition in the market for database software by taking over Sun. The rival vendor makes the open source database, MySQL, among other products. The easy-to-use database software is based on freely distributed code and is particularly popular among Web-site developers.

In a statement issued on Monday, the Commission acknowledged Oracle's commitment to customers, developers and users of MySQL as “an important new element” in the proceedings. Oracle has said that it will boost investment in MySQL and maintain the software's open source licensing platform.

The statement followed a two-day meeting last week in which the Brussels regulators invited Oracle to defend its position. It echoes EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes' recent comment that she is “still optimistic” about easing antitrust concerns over the acquisition and ending worries that Oracle might quash development of Sun's rival database software.

Earlier this year, the Commission issued a statement of objections to Oracle and Sun, claiming the deal, as it stood, would undermine MySQL as an open source alternative to Oracle's own proprietary database software.

Oracle's other top two competitors, German business software vendor SAP and Microsoft, have also voiced their concerns about the planned takeover.

US antitrust officials already have cleared the Oracle-Sun deal.

Regulators in Brussels have until January 27 to decide whether or not to approve it.

jrb/AFP/Reuters
Editor: Sam Edmonds