European Commission meeting room after discussion on Broadcom VMware
European cloud providers are sounding the alarm, urging EU antitrust regulators to swiftly intervene against what they describe as Broadcom’s anticompetitive practices regarding its recently acquired VMware virtualisation platform. The move highlights escalating tensions over market dominance and pricing power in the critical cloud infrastructure sector.
Led by the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), whose associate members include tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon, a coalition including Belgium’s Beltug, France’s Cigref, Germany’s VOICE, and CIO Platform Nederland, formally petitioned EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera and EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen on July 10, 2026. Their central accusation: Broadcom has imposed “substantial price hikes” on VMware users since its 2023 acquisition and is effectively “barring numerous providers” from deploying and purchasing the service. This isn’t CISPE’s first move; they previously sought interim measures in March 2026, which prompted the European Commission to start scrutinizing Broadcom’s VMware licensing changes.
The groups are pushing for immediate interim measures, specifically requesting a minimum three-year transition period. This would allow the European Commission ample time to complete its investigation into Broadcom’s conduct without further immediate market disruption. Broadcom, however, strongly refutes these claims, asserting that CISPE is funded by “large cloud service providers” (hyperscalers) and “misrepresents the market’s true conditions.” A Broadcom spokesperson emphasized the company’s commitment to “significantly investing in its European VMware Cloud Service Provider partners (VCSPs)” to help them offer alternatives to hyperscalers and meet evolving European business demands. This dispute underscores a fundamental clash over the future of cloud infrastructure, particularly how acquired technology platforms are integrated and priced, and the competitive landscape for smaller and mid-sized cloud providers against industry giants.
With the European Commission confirming receipt of the joint letter, the pressure is on for regulators to decide whether to impose interim measures. The outcome could set a significant precedent for how large tech acquisitions are managed in Europe, especially concerning their impact on competition and the broader digital economy. For businesses relying on VMware or similar virtualisation technologies, the ongoing investigation creates uncertainty, while for cloud service providers, it’s a battle for a level playing field.
About the Author
