In a Wednesday statement, bigwig networking equipment maker Cisco Systems said that it is appealing the European Commission (EC)’s unconditional approval to software giant Microsoft’s $8.5-billion acquisition of Internet-calling service Skype SA – a deal which closed in October 2011.

Stating that it does not oppose the Microsoft-Skype merger overall, Cisco said that its chief request to the General Court of the European Union would be to place conditions on the merger, such that Skype video-conferencing service would be required to operate with rival services.

With Cisco largely looking to get the European regulators to add in certain standards-based interoperability conditions on Microsoft, it is quite evident that even though Cisco and Microsoft dominate long-separate sectors in the tech arena, they are getting involved in an increasing number of scuffles in the wake of the growing significance of video communications for both of the companies.

Since both Microsoft’s Lync software and Skype use proprietary technologies, Cisco – whose VoIP and videoconferencing products rival Microsoft’s Skype unit – has been hit in the recent times because of the fact that it failed to strike an agreement with Microsoft for ensuring the compatibility of its own equipment.

Noting that Cisco’s appeal is largely “about one thing only: securing standards-based interoperability in the video calling space,” Martin De Beer – Senior VP of Cisco's Emerging Business Group - said in an official blog post: “Our goal is to make video calling as easy and seamless as email is today. Making a video-to-video call should be as easy as dialing a phone number.”