The European Commission has reportedly drafted a final antitrust decision on Intel that - predictably - calls for a fine and a ban on Intel's allegedly anticompetitive rebates, though what any "ban" - a complex issue - might entail remains to be seen.

Imagine now a European entity regulating the business between two American firms like, oh, Intel and IBM, Intel and HP, Intel and Dell, Intel and Cisco, Intel and Apple, Intel and Sun or between Intel and any of the Asian firms.

Who exactly the EC would be regulating in the European Union is a very short or very imaginative list.

Any fine is likely to dominate the story but is relatively unimportant by comparison, although expectations are that the EC will try to set a new personal best and go for something north of $1.5 billion.

Anyway, the reportedly 500-page draft has reportedly been sent to the EU's 27 national competition authorities ahead of a meeting at which they all get to turn their thumbs up or down, followed by another meeting to approve the fine. Intel is not believed to have set aside any money to cover any fines.

Figure a ruling in the next two months maybe in time for the fourth anniversary of the mammoth AMD vs Intel suit on June 27.

And figure Intel will appeal; it was invited to do so last year when it took the EC to court trying to get them to accept some evidence it didn't want to look at.

Intel's problem with the EC dates to an AMD complaint in 2000.