Five Major Cloud Service Groups Jointly Urge EU to Impose Interim Measures on Broadcom
Claire Weston
Five European cloud-industry bodies wrote jointly to EU regulators on July 10, demanding interim measures against Broadcom's VMware business — the largest collective push from the industry since the investigation began, and a direct test of how far Brussels will go.
What exactly does the letter demand?
The five groups want the EU to immediately impose interim measures on Broadcom, freezing certain commercial practices while the investigation runs.
Two core asks: stop the steep price hikes on VMware users, and restore deployment and procurement access for the thousands of service providers now shut out.
The letter also requests at least a three-year transition period during the probe. This means → even if a final ruling goes against Broadcom, the industry needs migration time — no overnight switches.
Who signed, and why is this louder than before?
The lead signatory is CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe), whose members span nearly 50 European firms; Microsoft and Amazon are associate members.
Four new co-signatories joined this round: Belgium's Beltug, France's Cigref, Germany's VOICE, and the Netherlands' CIO Platform Nederland — expanding the front from one trade body to user organizations across four countries.
In plain terms = before, it was cloud providers complaining on their own. Now the enterprise IT buyers have stepped in too — a sign the pricing pain has spread from the supply side to the demand side.
How did Broadcom respond?
Broadcom rejected the allegations outright, calling CISPE a group funded by hyperscale cloud vendors whose claims "distort market reality."
A Broadcom spokesperson said the company continues to invest in European VMware cloud-provider partners, helping them offer alternatives to the hyperscalers.
This reflects Broadcom's defensive framing: cast the dispute as "hyperscalers vs. smaller cloud providers," not "Broadcom vs. the entire industry."
What happens next — and why are interim measures the pivotal moment?
The European Commission confirmed it received the letter. Broadcom completed its VMware acquisition in 2023, then restructured the cloud-provider ecosystem — triggering the CISPE complaint and the Commission's inquiry.
Interim measures — emergency restrictions imposed on a company before an investigation concludes — are rarely granted in EU antitrust practice. Approval would send a powerful signal.
This means → if the EU does grant interim measures, it tells the market that Broadcom's licensing changes pose urgent enough competitive harm to justify enforcement well beyond a routine probe.
Content is for reference only, not financial advice.