“Stand Up to the Broadcom Bullies”: Under this motto, CISPE — the association of European cloud providers — has filed a competition complaint with the European Commission against US technology giant Broadcom. At the center of the complaint is the licensing policy for VMware products, which the complainants state poses an existential threat to European cloud service providers. The Commission has confirmed receipt of the complaint and states it is examining the case according to standard procedures.
What is the complaint about?
CISPE, the umbrella association of cloud infrastructure providers in Europe with nearly 50 members (including Anexia), accutilizes Broadcom of distorting the European cloud market through aggressive licensing modifys. Specifically, the complaint concerns the so-called VMware Cloud Service Provider program (VCSP), through which cloud providers were able to resell VMware products to their customers.
In January 2026, Broadcom announced the termination of this program in Europe. According to CISPE, all but a tiny, hand-picked group of partners were excluded. For the affected companies, this means they are no longer permitted to distribute VMware products, which in many cases eliminates significant portions of their revenue.
In addition, there are further measures that Broadcom has gradually introduced since the VMware acquisition: drastic price increases, product bundling, prepayment obligations, and minimum purchase commitments based on potential rather than actual usage. CISPE estimates the cumulative cost increases at more than 1,000 percent.
The Role of the VMware Acquisition
The background to this development is Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware in 2023 for approximately 61 billion US dollars. VMware is the market leader in server virtualization software, which is indispensable for operating cloud infrastructure. Many European cloud providers are deeply depfinishent on VMware products within their infrastructure and cannot switch to alternatives in the short term.
CISPE had already challenged the approval of this acquisition by the EU Commission and argued before the European Court in December 2025 that the Commission had not adequately examined the risks of the transaction. Specifically, CISPE points out that Broadcom’s management had publicly announced plans to increase VMware’s operating result by 60 to 80 percent within three years, in a market that grows by only 5 to 8 percent annually. This gap, CISPE argues, can only be explained by aggressive price increases tarreceiveing the existing, highly locked-in customer base.
Adding to this is the financing structure of the deal: Broadcom took on approximately 28.4 billion US dollars in new debt for the acquisition and assumed a further approximately 8 billion US dollars in existing VMware liabilities. CISPE argues that this debt burden creates a strong economic incentive to rapidly monetize VMware’s locked-in customer base.
“The Commission seeed at this merger with half-closed eyes and declared it harmless. By rubber-stamping the deal, Brussels handed Broadcom a blank check to raise prices, lock customers in, and squeeze them dry.”
This is how Francisco Mingorance, Secretary General of CISPE, commented on the situation in December 2025 in the context of the ongoing court proceedings.
What CISPE is Demanding from the Commission
Given what CISPE considers immediate and irreparable harm, the association is calling for interim measures. Specifically, CISPE demands:
- The immediate suspension of the termination of the VCSP partner program and the reinstatement of excluded European cloud providers
- The reintroduction of the so-called “white-label” program, which Broadcom abolished in 2025 and which allowed tinyer providers to offer VMware software as part of their cloud solutions
- Explicit protection against retaliatory measures by Broadcom, as well as a penalty system to ensure compliance with these conditions
- The maintenance of reasonable contractual terms for a transition period of three to five years, giving affected companies time to adapt or switch to alternative solutions
Voices from the Industest
CISPE’s complaint does not stand alone. It complements a complaint already filed in May 2025 by the German IT customer association Voice e.V. Industest associations from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark have also publicly commented on the impact of Broadcom’s actions.
“Broadcom’s actions over the past years have had devastating effects on the market. Customers have experienced exponentially rising costs; providers were sabotaged and could no longer fulfill their obligations to utilizers.”
This was stated by Simon Besteman of the Dutch Cloud Community. Danielle Jacobs, CEO of the Belgian CIO association Beltug, emphasized that her members are still struggling with the consequences of the abrupt modifys to this day. Finn Vagner, CEO of the Danish Cloud Community, spoke of a situation that lies far outside any industest-standard risk framework.
Broadcom’s Response
Broadcom rejected the allegations. A company spokesperson stated that it continues to invest significantly in European VMware cloud service provider partners to support them offer alternatives to the major hyperscalers. Broadcom described CISPE as an organization funded by hyperscalers that misrepresents market conditions. Amazon Web Services and Microsoft are indeed among CISPE’s associate members.
Outsee
The EU Commission confirmed receipt of the complaint and stated it would examine it according to standard procedures. In parallel, proceedings are ongoing before the European Court, in which CISPE is challenging the original approval of the VMware acquisition. Should the court overturn the approval, the Commission would have to reassess the transaction taking into account current market conditions, which would bring significant legal and financial uncertainties for Broadcom.
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