The European Commission did not merely publish a new Microsoft Teams proposal. It published Microsoft’s proposed commitments for comment on May 16, 2025, then accepted amended, binding commitments on September 12, 2025. The settlement gives covered European Economic Area (EEA) business customers a choice between Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suites with Teams and lower-priced equivalent suites without Teams.
Microsoft must also provide switching opportunities, defined interoperability for competing collaboration services, and a way to extract Teams messaging data. Teams remains available; customers are not required to migrate away from it.
What the Commission actually published
The dates matter because “new proposal” is now outdated wording.
| Stage | Date | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Formal investigation | July 2023 | The Commission opened an antitrust investigation after a complaint by Slack, owned by Salesforce. Commission announcement |
| Proposed commitments and market test | May 16, 2025 | The Commission published Microsoft’s proposed commitments and invited observations. Proposed commitments |
| Binding commitment decision | September 12, 2025 | The Commission accepted Microsoft’s amended final commitments. Decision summary |
| Official Journal summary | December 18, 2025 | The final decision was summarized in the Official Journal. |
This was a commitment decision under EU competition law, including Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 54 of the EEA Agreement—not a Digital Markets Act enforcement decision and not a fine-based finding that Microsoft must abandon Teams.
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- On ear controls to adjust volume, start/end calls, and invoke Teams. Plus button controls for power, active noise cancellation (ANC), wireless Bluetooth pairing, and mute on/off or use the flip-to-mute mic feature.
- Certified for Microsoft Teams ensures it’s easy to pick-up or answer Teams meetings, calls, messages, and notifications with a single press to the Teams button. Or apply a longer touch to invoke Cortana voice skills.
Why Microsoft’s bundle drew antitrust scrutiny
The Commission’s preliminary view was that Microsoft’s productivity applications and Teams were separate products, while Microsoft held a dominant position in professional software-as-a-service productivity applications. Including Teams in Microsoft 365 and Office 365 suites could, in the Commission’s view, pressure customers to obtain Teams and disadvantage competing unified communications products such as Slack, Zoom and Cisco Webex.
The Commission also examined whether limits on interoperability reinforced the bundle’s effects. The investigation followed Slack’s complaint and formally opened in July 2023.
What Microsoft’s final commitments require
Lower-priced suites without Teams
Covered Office 365 and Microsoft 365 knowledge-worker suites purchased in the EEA must be offered without Teams at a lower price than equivalent suites that include Teams. The Commission’s final decision describes a potential difference of up to €8 per user per month. That is a maximum cited difference for covered plans, not an automatic €8 discount on every Microsoft 365 SKU or reseller quote.
The standalone Teams price must be at least as high as the applicable bundle difference, and Microsoft may not give more favorable discounts to Teams-included suites or standalone Teams than to suites without Teams.
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- Digital Stereo Sound: Fine-tuned drivers provide enhanced digital audio for music, calls, meetings and more
- Rotating Noise Canceling Mic: Minimizes unwanted background noise for clear conversations; the rotating boom arm can be tucked out of the way when you’re not using it
- Handy In-line Controls: Simple in-line controls on the headset cable let you adjust the volume or mute calls without disruption
- Plug-and-Play USB Computer Headset: Simply plug the USB-A connector into your computer and you’re ready to talk or listen without the need to install software
- Padded Comfort: Comfortable headphones with adjustable headband features swivel-mounted, leatherette ear cushions for hours of comfort and is easy to clean
Recurring switching opportunities
Customers on long-term contracts must receive recurring opportunities to move from a suite with Teams to the corresponding suite without Teams. The exact timing still depends on the contract, licensing channel and permitted conversion rules.
Worldwide deployment for EEA buyers
An EEA customer may deploy a qualifying no-Teams suite in datacenters worldwide. This addresses multinational organizations whose Microsoft workloads or tenants are hosted outside the EEA.
Interoperability for rivals
Microsoft must provide competitors and relevant third parties with effective interoperability for specified functionality involving Microsoft products and their successors. This is a defined regulatory obligation, not a promise that every Teams feature or every Microsoft API will be open to every rival.
Office Web Apps integration
Competing collaboration services must be allowed to embed Microsoft Office Web Applications—Word, Excel and PowerPoint—with functionality comparable to the viewing, editing, collaboration, presentation and live experiences available through Teams.
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More prominent rival integration
Microsoft must enable Teams competitors to be prominently integrated into products that previously helped tie Teams to the Microsoft productivity suite. “Prominently integrated” does not guarantee identical visual placement in every Microsoft interface.
Teams messaging-data portability
EEA customers must be able to extract Teams messaging data for use in an alternative or parallel solution. The commitment does not guarantee a one-click, lossless transfer of every message, reaction, file, recording, app, permission, compliance record or workflow. Migration scope must be tested separately.
Monitoring and dispute resolution
Microsoft must appoint a monitoring trustee. The commitments also provide mediation and fast-track arbitration for implementation disputes.
How long the commitments last
- Most licensing and related commitments last seven years from the effective date.
- Interoperability and data-portability obligations last 10 years.
Those are separate periods; the settlement should not be described simply as a 10-year licensing requirement.
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- Advanced Noise Cancellation: Three-mic noise suppression technology blocks distractions, delivering unmatched audio clarity for professional calls or casual gaming
- Ergonomic & Lightweight Design: At only 140g, the headset features adjustable memory foam earcups and a flexible headband for extended comfort during long workdays or gaming sessions
- Unmatched Battery Life: Stay powered with up to 31 hours of talk time or 60 hours of music playback on a single charge, ensuring productivity and entertainment without interruptions
Which customers and products are covered
The legal decision focuses on commercial Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites for knowledge workers purchased in the EEA. The final summary does not treat every Microsoft customer or SKU alike.
- Frontline-worker suites are outside the final commitments, although Microsoft separately announced no-Teams options for some frontline offerings globally.
- Education, government, nonprofit, consumer and specialized plans require SKU-level verification.
- Microsoft’s licensing materials identify EEA no-Teams SKUs and conversion rules for some three-year subscriptions. See Partner Center pricing and offers, the licensing FAQ and EEA subscription guidance.
What the change means for a buyer
Keep Teams in the suite
A customer can continue buying a Teams-included Microsoft 365 or Office 365 plan. The settlement does not prohibit bundled plans.
Choose Microsoft 365 without Teams
This can preserve Office, Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, identity and security services while another product supplies chat, meetings or calling.
Buy Teams separately
An organization can pair a no-Teams suite with a standalone Teams product when it wants Microsoft collaboration capabilities without the original bundle.
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- Comfortable on-ear design with lightweight, padded earcups for all-day wear.
- Background noise-reducing microphone.
- High-quality stereo speakers optimized for voice.
- Mute control with status light. Easily see, at a glance, whether you can be heard or not.
- Convenient call controls, including mute, volume, and the Teams button, are in-line and easy to reach.
Run Teams alongside a rival
Dual-platform operation may support external meetings or specialized teams, but it can duplicate notifications, search, administration and retention work.
Microsoft announced global alignment of suite options and pricing in addition to the EEA legal remedy. Its September 12, 2025 announcement said the relevant pricing change would take effect November 1, 2025 and identified an €8 price delta for Teams Enterprise/Teams EEA. It also said U.S.-dollar price-delta amounts would remain constant for seven years, subject to exchange-rate treatment. A reseller quote can differ because of currency, discounts, term and channel.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Migration realities before dropping Teams
Inventory the data
Confirm what must move: channel and chat messages, reactions, mentions, files, recordings, apps, permissions, retention labels and eDiscovery records. Teams files commonly reside in SharePoint and OneDrive, so replacing the client does not automatically move the underlying files.
Check meetings and telephony
Validate webinars, Teams Phone, PSTN connectivity, compliance recording, external meetings and guest access. A rival chat product may not replace these functions on a like-for-like basis.
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Test workflows and identity
Power Automate flows, bots, approvals, custom applications and integrations may depend on Teams identifiers or APIs. Test Microsoft Entra ID, single sign-on, conditional access, lifecycle management and guest access with the alternative.
Map compliance controls
Compare retention, legal hold, eDiscovery, audit and archiving capabilities with Microsoft Purview requirements. Exported messages may not reproduce Teams threads, permissions or metadata exactly.
Price the complete environment
Compare the no-Teams suite, standalone Teams if needed, the rival platform, telephony and PSTN, migration services, compliance tools, reseller discounts and contract commitments. A lower Microsoft license price can be outweighed by replacement and operating costs.
Quick Recap
What the settlement does not do
- It does not remove Teams from Microsoft 365 or ban Microsoft from selling bundled suites.
- It does not force any customer to switch to Slack, Zoom, Webex or another service.
- It does not create a universal worldwide legal remedy. The binding commitments center on EEA customers; Microsoft’s global alignment is a separate commercial decision.
- It does not make every Teams feature interoperable with every competitor.
- It does not guarantee complete, lossless migration of all Teams content and workflows.
- It does not guarantee that every customer receives the headline €8 difference.
Timeline of the case
- 2020: Slack complained about Microsoft’s Teams bundling.
- July 2023: The Commission opened its formal investigation.
- October 2023: Microsoft introduced an initial EEA no-Teams arrangement.
- April 2024: Microsoft broadened no-Teams availability globally.
- May 16, 2025: The Commission published proposed commitments for market testing.
- September 12, 2025: The Commission accepted binding final commitments.
- December 18, 2025: The Official Journal published the decision summary.
Buyer checklist
- Identify the exact Microsoft SKU, user category and purchasing country.
- Check whether the organization buys through an Enterprise Agreement, CSP, annual, monthly or three-year term.
- Confirm EEA eligibility and the contract date on which switching is permitted.
- Obtain written prices for the Teams-included suite, no-Teams suite and standalone Teams in the correct currency.
- Price Slack, Zoom Workplace, Cisco Webex, Google Workspace or another alternative, including telephony and compliance costs. Official product pages include Slack, Zoom Workplace, Cisco Webex and Google Workspace.
- Run a pilot covering message export, files, meetings, identity, apps, retention and eDiscovery.
- Decide whether a dual-platform period creates unacceptable administration or user confusion.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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