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SAP offers concessions to EU in effort to ease antitrust concerns

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SAP, Europe’s largest software maker, has proposed concessions to the European Commission in an attempt to head off a potential antitrust investigation and fines, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The German company dominates the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market, providing software that helps firms manage finances, supply chains, HR, and procurement. SAP has long been under scrutiny from EU regulators following complaints about complex licensing terms, the bundling of applications, and difficulties faced by companies trying to switch to rival suppliers.

According to sources, SAP has submitted a proposal aimed at addressing regulators’ concerns, though details of the remedies were not disclosed. If accepted, SAP could avoid a formal investigation and a penalty that could reach up to 10% of its annual global revenue. Both SAP and the European Commission declined to comment.

The Commission previously circulated a 2022 questionnaire to SAP customers asking about their ability to switch to rival vendors, purchase only specific support services, or migrate from on-premise ERP systems to the cloud. The inquiry also raised questions about whether SAP or Oracle had disparaged competitors.

Potential remedies could include giving customers greater flexibility to purchase individual support contracts and lowering barriers to migration between vendors.

SAP also faces antitrust pressure in the United States: in June it asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a ruling requiring it to face a lawsuit from Teradata, which accused the company of anti-competitive practices.

The EU’s decision on SAP’s concessions will determine whether the company averts another high-profile investigation as regulators increase scrutiny of dominant software vendors.

Microsoft avoids EU antitrust fine with Teams price split

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Microsoft sidestepped a potential multibillion-euro EU antitrust fine by agreeing to lower prices on Office products that exclude its Teams app, the European Commission announced Friday. The deal follows a long-running probe triggered by a 2020 complaint from Slack, later joined by German rival Alfaview, accusing Microsoft of unfairly bundling Teams with Office.

Under the agreement, Microsoft will widen the price difference by 50% between Office/Microsoft 365 packages sold with and without Teams, creating a gap of €1–€8 depending on the suite. This pricing model will stay in place for seven years, while additional commitments on interoperability and data portability—including the ability for customers to export Teams messaging data to competitors—will last 10 years.

EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said the move would “open up competition in this crucial market,” ensuring companies can freely choose their collaboration tools. The decision arrives a week after Ribera fined Google €2.95 billion for adtech violations, a ruling that drew sharp criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Microsoft Vice President Nanna-Louise Linde said the company welcomed the constructive dialogue and would implement its obligations globally. Alfaview CEO Niko Fostiropoulos praised the settlement as a win for Europe’s “digital sovereignty,” while Salesforce president Sabastian Niles called it “a meaningful step forward” and urged strict enforcement.

Microsoft has previously racked up €2.2 billion in EU fines for bundling and other practices, but in recent years it has sought a more cooperative stance with regulators. Antitrust penalties can reach up to 10% of a firm’s global annual turnover, meaning the company could have faced a fine of over $20 billion without the deal.

Meta and TikTok Win EU Court Challenge on Tech Fees, Regulators Must Recalculate

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Meta Platforms and TikTok secured a legal victory on Wednesday against the European Commission over the way EU regulators calculated supervisory fees under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The General Court in Luxembourg ruled that the methodology used to determine the fees was flawed and must be reworked.

Both companies had challenged the 0.05% levy on annual worldwide net income, arguing the system unfairly imposed disproportionate costs. The fee is intended to fund the EU’s monitoring of large platforms’ compliance with the DSA, which requires them to better police harmful and illegal online content.

Court Ruling

The judges said the fee calculation method should have been set under a delegated act, rather than through implementing decisions, giving regulators 12 months to fix the legal framework. Importantly, the court said fees already paid for 2023 will not be reimbursed.

Reactions

  • The European Commission said the ruling requires only a “formal correction” and that it will adopt a delegated act to formalize the methodology.

  • TikTok welcomed the decision, pledging to monitor the new process.

  • Meta emphasized that the current system unfairly burdens profitable companies while large loss-making platforms avoid payment, despite imposing heavy regulatory costs.

Wider Context

The DSA, which came into effect in November 2022, gives the EU sweeping oversight powers and allows fines of up to 6% of global turnover for non-compliance. Other major platforms subject to supervisory fees include Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Booking.com, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and Pinterest.

The cases were filed under references T-55/24 (Meta Platforms Ireland v Commission) and T-58/24 (TikTok Technology v Commission).