European cloud providers are demanding urgent intervention from Brussels after Broadcom dismantled its established European VMware channel.

AWS and Microsoft-backed CISPE, which counts 41 members, pointed to Broadcom’s decision this January to shut down its Advantage Partner Program for VMware Cloud Service Providers (VCSPs) across Europe. 

VMware moved to an invite-only partner scheme in 2024.

CISPE wailed that “this unilateral decision removed all but a tiny minority of hand selected partners and excluded most European CSPs from selling VMware products” – complaining that the move reduces customer choice.

In a strongly worded complaint, Simon Besteman, a public affairs director of industry association the Dutch Cloud Community, said  “...providers have been sabotaged and found themselves unable to fulfil their commitments to users, dissent or protest has led to threats, retaliation and ostracism.”

Bring back the VSCP and ‘white label' program

CISPE today called for “immediate suspension of Broadcom’s termination of its VCSP partner program” and “reintroduction of the ‘white label’ program, axed by Broadcom in 2025, which previously allowed SME and smaller cloud providers to offer VMware software as part of their cloud solutions.”

Broadcom’s response: CISPE is “an organisation funded by hyperscalers, which misrepresent the realities of the market,” it said shortly. 

Since Broadcom announced its $61 billion VMware acquisition in 2022, CISPE has frequently brought complaints to the EU. In early 2024, it called for regulatory action against the company for cancelling virtualisation software licenses. After claiming a win around similar licensing complaints directed at Microsoft, CISPE also took the EU to the European General Court in July 2025, alleging its approval of the Broadcom merger failed to “prevent a concentration of dominance” or mitigate potential abuse of power.

See also: Can OpenStack really replace VMware?

In its latest complaint, the group appealed to EU sovereignty concerns, claiming Broadcom was “destroying European strategic autonomy” by creating markets with vendors entirely dependent on its technology.

CISPE’s concerns are nothing new, with UK regulators warning the VMware acquisition could have a “substantial” effect on hardware markets back in 2023. The regulators cleared the deal months later after a phase 2 inquiry.

Price hikes

AT&T reached a settlement with Broadcom after suing the company over VMware licensing changes, claiming its costs had been set to jump 1,050%.

CISPE’s new complaint echoes that suit, alleging VMware pricing changes, including the end to perpetual licenses and the introduction of minimum financial commitments, were increasing costs by around 1,000%.

UK supermarket giant Tesco also sued Broadcom on 15 July 2025.

After Broadcom bought VMware it discontinued perpetual licences and standalone support services, and bundled products into subscription-based offerings at higher prices and on a long-term basis.

Tesco alleges it does not require subscription-based licences for the perpetually licensed software that it has already paid for – but that in order to obtain the necessary virtualisation support services for the software in the future, Tesco’s only option in 2026 will be to pay for the bundled subscription offering, which includes “superfluous and duplicative” subscription licences for other products that it says it does not need.

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