CISPE takes the European Commission to court to block Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware
CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe), representing Europe’s leading sovereign cloud infrastructure providers, has filed an appeal with the European Court of Justice against the European Commission’s decision to authorise Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware. CISPE is seeking the annulment of this decision.
CISPE bases its appeal on errors of law and assessment.
The Commission’s decision, published on 13 May 2025, acknowledges that the acquisition poses significant risks to competition. However, the Commission did not impose any conditions on Broadcom to prevent excessive concentration of power or to mitigate the risks of abuse of a dominant position. CISPE considers that this decision is vitiated by errors of law and incorrect assessments from a competition perspective, which are sufficiently serious to justify its annulment. The appeal was lodged within the legal deadline.
The association also cites exorbitant costs and the exclusion of small cloud providers. Since the transaction was finalised, Broadcom has unilaterally terminated numerous contracts, often with only a few weeks’ notice, and imposed new and particularly restrictive licensing terms. These include drastic price increases – in some cases tenfold – as well as mandatory multi-year commitments to access essential VMware software.
New threats to resellers
In July, Broadcom further tightened its terms by announcing new restrictive licensing terms that could exclude European cloud providers, including many CISPE members. These players could now be prevented from purchasing and reselling VMware-based cloud services, which are crucial for offering secure and flexible European cloud solutions.
For two years, CISPE has regularly alerted the European Commission – and in particular DG Competition – to Broadcom’s unfair software licence . Despite numerous meetings and detailed responses to requests for information, no concrete measures have been taken to support European cloud service providers or their customers. CISPE’s repeated attempts to engage in constructive dialogue with Broadcom and obtain fair access conditions for its members have also been ignored.
“It is not only cloud service providers, but also hospitals, universities and local authorities that are now facing unsustainable costs and rigid long-term commitments, jeopardising the flexibility and accessibility of their digital infrastructure,” said Francisco Mingorance, Secretary General, CISPE. “The Commission was warned. It must now reconsider its decision.”
