The European Commission (EC), the European Union’s executive branch, uses Microsoft Teams, like anyone who wears a suit to work has to. It’s also rolled out what it calls a “sovereign back-up,” and officials say it’s “absolute shit,” according to Politico.
That platform is Element Pro, a collaboration software for governments and public sector entities that is designed by a London-based company of the same name. It’s understandable that the EC might be wary of totally relying on American software in an era of tense US-EU relations—the EC accepted commitments to end a massive antitrust probe into Microsoft’s Teams sales practices in Europe just last year. Yet in an apparent concession to the obvious difficulty they would face finding a European replacement for Teams, the EC has only rolled out Element as an “internal back-up,” Politico reported.
There’s no indication anyone was forced to use the tool, but it’s being trialed and got very negative reviews from some EC staff who used it. According to Politico, one staffer wrote on an internal EC staff forum that “I don’t understand the added value here,” while another described Element as “absolute shit.” A third official said that if Element Pro is any indication, the US would “instantly win the war” if America’s tech just shut off.
A fourth official defended Element on at least one dimension: that it’s run on the EC’s own infrastructure.
“That is not the case with Teams, where all we have is a guarantee that Microslop will not peek inside,” that official wrote, per Politico.
EU officials have tussled with American tech firms over competition issues for much of the last decade. President Donald Trump’s abusive treatment of Europe in general has led to growing distrust and reports of European intelligence agencies distancing themselves from their US counterparts, so it’s hardly a surprise that EC officials are concerned that Microsoft is or could become an espionage risk. A July 2026 EC memo to staff, Politico reported, said the EC is embracing “digital sovereignty.”
That said, one might point out that the UK hasn’t been part of the EU since 2020, when it stormed out in a hissy fit and began churning through prime ministers like butter, so Element technically isn’t even a sovereign solution.
Element CEO Matthew Hodgson told Politico, “obviously there are going to be some teething issues” and “cognitive dissonance” with software switches. He added that the United Nations and NATO also use Element Pro and that “Change is always painful, particularly if it’s a switch from a much-used program like Teams.” (He’s right—just ask any IT admin who has tried to implement something new like mandatory multi-factor authentication about how difficult it can be to surmount user resistance.)
As Politico noted, the government of France plans to migrate to a domestic competitor to Microsoft Teams and Zoom by 2027, while the Austrian military uses LibreOffice, an open-source office suite maintained by a German foundation. At least one German state had also announced plans to migrate to LibreOffice as of 2024.
