Slack antitrust complaint against Microsoft Teams
11.7.2023
Priority question for written answer P-002171/2023
to the Commission
Rule 138
Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Renew)
In July 2020, Slack filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft with the Commission and stated that ‘Microsoft has illegally tied its Teams product into its market-dominant Office productivity’. Three years after the complaint was lodged, Microsoft’s dominant position in the market has grown[1], while the complainant is still waiting for meaningful progress in this case. Concretely, this would be either opening a formal antitrust investigation or seeking robust and effective Article 9 commitments from Microsoft that would restore free and fair choice for enterprise software customers. The recent news that Executive Vice-President (EVP) Vestager is planning to stand for the leadership position of the European Investment Bank might potentially cause additional delays in the process.
- 1.Can the Commission confirm that it plans to take an expeditious decision on this case and in any case before EVP leaves for her potential new role?
- 2.As Microsoft has been repeatedly found to have violated EU competition law, can the Commission confirm that it is fully aware of the need to put in place effective remedies that are different from those used in the past in other digital antitrust cases?
- 3.How is the Commission ensuring that pending digital antitrust investigations are dealt with in an expeditious manner that keeps pace with the rapid developments in digital markets?
Submitted:11.7.2023
- [1] https://www.businessofapps.com/data/microsoft-teams-statistics/