Microsoft Set to Avoid EU Fine with Unbundling of Teams

Microsoft is set to avoid an EU fine after agreeing to unbundle its Teams app from Office packages. The move comes after a market test showed no serious objections from rivals and customers. Under the settlement, Microsoft will sell Teams separately and improve interoperability for rival software. The EU's case followed a complaint from Slack in 2019. The decision is expected to be rubber-stamped in the coming weeks.

Microsoft has agreed to unbundle its Teams app from Office packages to avoid potential fines from the European Union (EU). The decision follows a market test that indicated no serious objections from rivals and customers. Under the settlement, Microsoft will sell Teams separately and enhance interoperability for rival software. The EU's case was initiated by a complaint from Slack in 2019, and the decision is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.

The EU Commission had raised concerns that Microsoft's bundling of Teams with Microsoft 365 was giving its own communication product an undue advantage over competitors. Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president of the EU Commission, stated that if confirmed, Microsoft's conduct would be illegal under the EU's competition rules. Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith acknowledged the concerns and pledged to address them [1].

Microsoft's agreement to unbundle Teams comes as part of a broader EU effort to regulate large tech companies. The Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) have already targeted several major tech firms, including X, Meta, Amazon, and Apple. The EU's tough stance on mostly American tech firms has drawn criticism from lawmakers and the US Chamber of Commerce, which argues that the regulations are stifling innovation and hurting European consumers [1].

The settlement with Microsoft is expected to set a precedent for future antitrust cases involving large tech companies. The EU's regulatory reach is expanding, with the recently passed EU AI Act providing comprehensive guidelines for artificial intelligence. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has already become a global standard for data privacy governance [1].

In a separate development, Boerse Stuttgart has unveiled Seturion, a blockchain-based pan-European settlement platform designed to unify fragmented post-trade systems for tokenized assets. The platform aims to cut settlement costs by up to 90% and is open to all market participants, including banks, brokers, and trading venues. The platform supports both public and private blockchains and was tested in the European Central Bank's blockchain trials in 2024 [2].

References:
[1] https://www.informationweek.com/it-leadership/eu-to-microsoft-teams-bundling-in-violation-of-antitrust-rules
[2] https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/09/04/boerse-stuttgart-unveils-pan-european-settlement-platform-for-tokenized-assets