Unsolicited proclamations of innocence are generally the first sign of a lie. Anyone dealing with the European Commission two weeks ago on Wednesday was reminded of this piece of common wisdom. The officials were quick to vehemently reject any connection between the announcement of relatively moderate penalties against Meta and Apple and the ongoing transatlantic negotiations on trade tariffs.

One can believe that, but one does not have to. At the very least, it is plausible to assume that the current competition decisions could help contribute to a certain de-escalation in the negotiations. First, the EU competition regulators, with individual actions like the closure of the browser choice procedure against Apple, are demonstrating their willingness to seek negotiated solutions with Big Tech. And, second, the EU is making it clear that it is not falling into the temptation of using its competition law, sharpened by regulations targeting dominant internet giants, to seriously attack US tech companies in the EU. For that, a much stronger measure than penalties in the low-hundreds of millions would be required.

In any case, there are many factual reasons why penalties amounting to billions of euros would be inappropriate in the current cases. The classic criteria – duration and severity of the violation, as well as recidivism – do not justify a penalty at the upper end of the scale. Furthermore, Brussels would be ill-advised to engage in half-baked power plays, especially now. It is tragic enough that the US government is constantly puffing out its chest. Therefore, it is all the more important for the EU to respond firmly, but appropriately. This is exactly what the European Commission has done. No one can accuse it of abandoning competition law just to curry favour with Donald Trump – after all, a 200 million fine for Meta and a 500 million euro fine for Apple are hardly pocket change. At the same time, even though one can never be completely sure with the current US administration, the actual decision is not such a provocation that it would make continuing tariff negotiations impossible.