Europe's major new telecoms law comes into effect on May 25, and it avoids any explicit net neutrality rules. But European Commissioner Neelie Kroes, once known for hammering Microsoft during its European antitrust lawsuit, says she will personally keep an eye on any Internet problems that might arise from blocking, throttling, or lying about actual connection speeds. If problems arise that can't be solved simply by switching ISPs, Kroes says she's ready to legislate.

In the meantime, she plans to shame ISPs into good behavior.

Europe's approach to net neutrality has always differed from that in the US. The European Commission has long touted “competition” as the solution to potential problems, pointing in part to the line-sharing rules in many European countries as the source of this competition. More recently, it has asked national regulators to keep a closer eye on anticompetitive behavior among Internet providers, but has declined to issue the sorts of rules adopted last year by the Federal Communications Commission in the US.

That difference extends to traffic management and prioritization of content, which is viewed more favorably in Europe. As Kroes said in a speech today, “It is important to keep video calls running smoothly even if that means an e-mail is delayed by a few seconds. Consumers have the right to choose services, and operators have the right to deliver services that can meet these expectations.” And a report (PDF) released today by the Commission suggested that paid prioritization might be allowed depending on "the economic significance" of the payments involved.

But Kroes issued a warning to ISPs, saying that this wasn't a free pass to start tinkering with Internet connections. As the EU looks more specifically into allegations of blocking and throttling this year, Kroes said:

I will present the findings and will publicly name operators engaging in doubtful practices. I will be looking particularly closely for any instances of unannounced blocking or throttling of certain types of traffic, and any misleading advertising of broadband speeds. If I am not satisfied that consumers can counteract such practices by switching providers, I will not hesitate to introduce more stringent measures. That could be in the form of more prescriptive guidance, or even legislation if it is needed. Mark my words: if measures to enhance competition are not enough to bring Internet providers to offer real consumer choice, I am ready to prohibit the blocking of lawful services or applications. It's not OK for Skype and other such services to be throttled. That is anti-competitive. It's not OK to rip off consumers on connection speeds.

There's reason for such concern. As today's Commission report noted, throttling of file-sharing and video streaming traffic has been reported in France, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, and the United Kingdom. Blocking or charging extra fees for VoIP has been reported on mobile operators in Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Romania.

Kroes even mentioned a story she has heard (but has not yet been able to verify) that "one UK operator is said to make Skype calls technically impossible in afternoons and evenings without warning users," while "others scare users from using the service or ban it altogether."