EU says it held 'constructive' talks with Apple CEO Cook after Siri AI clash

BRUSSELS, July 1 (Reuters) - European technology chief Henna Virkkunen held "constructive" talks with Apple CEO Tim Cook this week, a European Commission spokesperson said on Wednesday, after the two sides clashed over the roll-out of Siri AI in Europe.

EU regulators and Apple traded barbs last month over competition rules that the U.S. company says have stopped it releasing its upgraded assistant Siri AI in the bloc, making it unavailable for iPhone and iPad users in the region.

"We can confirm that the call between EVP Virkkunen and Mr Tim Cook took place. It was a constructive exchange on topics of common interest, on which the work continues," the European Union spokesperson said in a statement.

More stringent European tech regulation has become a bone of contention between EU capitals and Washington, where U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the tougher rules and steep fines as damaging the interests of U.S. Big Tech.

The iPhone maker has said its Siri AI would not be available initially in the EU on iPhones or iPads and faulted the Commission for refusing to engage constructively to ensure privacy and security on Apple's devices.

The Commission has blamed Apple, saying it had been unable to develop "interoperability" to meet EU standards. Europe accounted for nearly 27% of Apple's total sales in its last fiscal year. The company does not break out sales for the EU.

Apple has said that Europe's Digital Markets Act has forced it to postpone the roll-out of several features in the EU, including iPhone mirroring to Mac and live translation with AirPods as well as location-based features in Maps.

The DMA aims to rein in Big Tech, give rivals more leeway to compete and consumers more choice. DMA breaches can lead to fines of as much as 10% of a company's global annual turnover.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Alexander Smith)