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Broadcom’s Double Standards and Delay Tactics in Ongoing EU Antitrust Investigation
Brussels, 15th May 2026 – CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe) today condemned Broadcom’s deeply concerning conduct in the European Commission’s ongoing antitrust investigation concerning Broadcom and VMware.
Broadcom is asking the European Court to withhold disclosure of correspondence with its US legal advisers, invoking legal professional privilege under US law. It is also asking the European Court to suspend the Commission’s RFI in relation to its anti-trust investigation pending its appeal.
At the same time, Broadcom is asking the European Court to compel the disclosure of confidential information submitted by CISPE members as part of their challenge to Broadcom’s acquisition and merger with VMware.
For CISPE, this position reflects unacceptable double standards and a calculated delaying strategy. It should be seen for what it is, an attempt to delay the opening of formal anti-trust proceedings and to prevent the imposition of interim protective measures sought by CISPE. The investigation and interim measures remain essential safeguards defending the very existence of European companies which rely on Broadcom/VMware software and will soon be deprived of economically viable access to it.
Francisco Mingorance, Secretary General of CISPE, commented; “On the one hand, Broadcom is asking European courts to force the disclosure of confidential information concerning European companies that exercised their legitimate right to challenge the consequences of the VMware acquisition. On the other, Broadcom refuses to disclose its own documents that may be essential to an ongoing European antitrust investigation. Dominant vendors cannot be allowed to play Europe’s legal system to their own advantage.”
CISPE believes it is legitimate to question why Broadcom is seeking to shield certain communications from scrutiny by European authorities. The withholding of such information may prevent material evidence of the ongoing abuses from coming to light.
“Broadcom cannot demand complete disclosure from CISPE members affected by its practices while simultaneously maintain opacity around its own internal communications and relevant evidence in the ongoing anti-trust investigation,” CISPE said. “European companies have the right to defend their interests without being exposed to further unlawful pressure tactics or intimidation.”
Since the VMware acquisition, numerous European cloud infrastructure providers have reported dramatic increases in costs and unilateral contractual changes. The recent termination of partner programmes now threatens the viability of thousands of European SMEs that, over decades, built their businesses around VMware technologies.
Against this backdrop, Broadcom’s procedural delay tactics raise serious concerns, as they seek to circumvent the imposition of urgent interim protective measures requested by CISPE to safeguard European cloud providers from unfair and arbitrary termination practices imposed by overseas vendors.
CISPE calls on the European Commission and EU courts to preserve the integrity of the ongoing investigation.
About CISPE
CISPE represents Europe’s leading cloud infrastructure service providers and promotes an open, competitive, sovereign, and EU-compliant cloud market across Europe.