The European Union's highest court ruled on 10 October that in the Irish tax case, the U.S. giant Apple lost the case and Apple had to pay up to 13 billion euros in back taxes, putting an end to a 10-year legal battle between Apple and the European Union over tax issues.。The ruling has been described as a "major setback" for Apple, in a case that highlights the conflict between the U.S. tech giant and the European Union, which has sought to resolve issues ranging from data protection to taxation and antitrust.。On September 10, the European Union's highest court also rejected an appeal by US giant Google Inc. in favor of the European Commission's 2.4 billion euro fine against Google on the grounds of abuse of monopoly power.。