The European Union has filed a complaint against tech giant Google, alleging that the company's promotion of its shopping links was tantamount to an abuse of its search engine dominance.

The EU's competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager  said she had issued a "statement of objections," and that Google now has 10 weeks to respond, reports the BBC. Google said it "strongly disagreed" with the accusations.

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At a press conference in Brussels, Vestager announced that an investigation has also been launched into whether the way Google bundled apps and services for its Android operating system was unfair.

She added that the EU would also continue to monitor other activities by Google that the company's competitors had complained about. Google accounts for more than a 90% of Europe's Internet searches.

The action by the EU comes on the heels of a five-year investigation into Google, and signals the beginning of a formal legal process that could cost the tech company billions of euros in fines.

The EU has also objected to Google placing ads from its Shopping service above others' links in relevant searches.

Vestager said their preliminary findings supported the claim that Google "systematically" gave prominence to its own ads.

"I'm concerned that Google has artificially boosted its presence in the comparison shopping market with the result that consumers may not necessarily see what's most relevant for them," Vestager  said. "Or that competitors may not get the commercial opportunity that their innovative services deserve."

Vestager said that the EU was not asking for a redesign of Google's search results or seeking a change to its algorithms. But she did say the case could set a precedent that would determine how the EU handled other complaints about Google's mapping, hotels and flights services, reports the BBC.

In response to the charges, Google search chief Amit Singhal wrote on the company's blog that while it "may be the most used search engine, people can now find and access information in numerous different ways," adding that "allegations of harm, for consumers and competitors, have proved to be wide of the mark."

In support of the EU's decision, lobbying group Icomp said that "Vestager's bold decision to send a Statement of Objections (SO) to Google and open a separate investigation into Google's Android platform are significant developments in the long running formal investigations into the company ... Google's abuse of dominance distorts European markets, harms consumers, and makes it impossible for Google's rivals to compete on a level playing field."

TagsEU Files Complaint Against Google, Says Firm Abused its Power, European Union, complaint, Search engine, Abuse, dominance, shopping links, Margrethe Vestager, Amit Singhal, Statement of Objections