Europe's antitrust chief said oshe was looking closely at Google's deals with phone makers and operators, concerned that conditions related to its Android mobile operating system may be restricting competition.

Margrethe Vestager appears to be gearing up to charge Google with anti-competitive behavior, a year after she accused the company of favoring its shopping service in delivering search results at the expense of rivals. Big companies should not try to protect themselves by holding back innovation, she said.

She is examining Google's contracts with phone makers and operators which use the Android.

"Our concern is that, by requiring phone makers and operators to pre-load a set of Google apps, rather than letting them decide for themselves which apps to load, Google might have cut off one of the main ways that new apps can reach customers."

In April 2015, the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation into Android which dominates the market in Europe, and there are concerns that Google is abusing that promote its own apps at the expense of competitors, which the company vehemently denies.

Apparently the Commission is reaching out to Google's rivals for more evidence — indicating charges may be being finalised.