The European Commission has accepted commitments from Microsoft aimed at resolving long-running competition concerns over the company’s Teams platform, the EU executive said on Thursday.
Under the deal, Microsoft will begin offering versions of its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 productivity suites without Teams, at a reduced price. The move follows a years-long antitrust investigation sparked by complaints from rival firms who argued the bundling of Teams with Office applications gave the U.S. tech giant an unfair edge in the workplace communications market.
“We appreciate the dialogue with the Commission that led to this agreement, and we turn now to implementing these new obligations promptly and fully,” said Nanna-Louise Linde, Microsoft’s vice president for European government affairs, in a statement.
The EU probe was launched after Slack Technologies, now part of Salesforce, filed a complaint in 2020. German competitor Alfaview also lodged a similar grievance. Regulators concluded that Microsoft had restricted competition by tying Teams to widely used Office applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, making it harder for alternative services to compete.
Although Microsoft initially moved to unbundle Teams from Office after the investigation was opened, the Commission found that the steps taken were insufficient to restore fair competition. Thursday’s commitments go further, with the company agreeing not only to sell separate versions of its software packages but also to make adjustments designed to ensure interoperability with rival communication and collaboration platforms.
The decision closes one of the most closely watched antitrust cases involving a major U.S. technology company in Europe. It also spares Microsoft a potential fine, which could have run into billions of euros. Reuters had reported earlier this year that regulators were leaning toward accepting Microsoft’s settlement offer instead of imposing penalties.
The case marks the latest in a series of regulatory battles between Brussels and Silicon Valley, as the EU steps up enforcement under its competition rules and prepares to implement the new Digital Markets Act. The law is designed to curb the dominance of so-called “gatekeeper” platforms by requiring them to open up their services to greater competition.
For Microsoft, the agreement is part of a broader effort to avoid protracted clashes with regulators in Europe, one of its most important markets. By offering concessions now, the company hopes to move past a dispute that has cast a shadow over its cloud and productivity software business.
