Microsoft Teams alternative is “absolute s**t,” European Commission officials complain
Microsoft Teams backup may need its own backup.
https://cybernews.com/tech/european-commission-teams/?utm_source=cn_facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=cybernews&utm_content=post&source=cn_facebook&medium=social&campaign=cybernews&content=post&fbclid=IwVERDUAUt-XBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBXNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHvaGHx0XVIaNJ1uxzmoBBlPqrxC_LO3cz5AZP4FLyR9qSFP96Q_KDWhm2Z0T_aem_KyUPv3dAJRxYUXU-raAwkA

Key takeaways:
The European Commission introduced Element Pro as a backup if Microsoft Teams becomes unavailable.
Some officials called Element Pro unnecessary and ineffective, with one describing it in crude terms.
The move reflects European concerns about dependence on US technology and data access under US law.
The ICC’s reported Microsoft email loss after US sanctions intensified fears about American tech access.

Officials have slammed the European Commission’s internal communication tool, Element Pro, intended to serve as an alternative to Microsoft Teams.

Politico reports that the Commission rolled out Element Pro over the summer as a “sovereign back-up to Teams,” in case Microsoft’s tool becomes unavailable.

Most of the Commission’s communications continue to flow through Teams, while Element Pro is described as an “internal back-up” that would ensure “business continuity” in the event of a “disruption,” according to an internal memo seen by Politico.

The introduction of the tool, developed by a UK-based company Element, comes as part of wider European efforts to reduce its digital dependence on US technological companies.

One official described Element Pro as “absolute shit,” while a third official said the US would “instantly win the war” if it decides to disable its technologies.

Element CEO Matthew Hodgson told Politico that some teething issues are expected during the switch, and noted that the United Nations and NATO also use the software.

Why are Europeans going local?
While switching to new software will inevitably cause disruptions, there are serious concerns that drive the need to find local alternatives to US tech.

After the US imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan in 2025, he reported losing his access to Microsoft-hosted email. The move sparked new concerns about the prospect of a “kill switch” for American tech.

Although the company rebuked Khan’s claims, the Hague-based ICC replaced Microsoft with openDesk, an open-source productivity suite developed by Germany’s Center for Digital Sovereignty.

As the US prepares new sanctions against the ICC, American companies will no longer be allowed to provide money, goods, or services to the court without a special license, according to Reuters. This once again will test Europe’s dependence on US tech.

Europeans also worry about data privacy, with concerns about the US Cloud Act, which allows American law enforcement to request user data from US companies, regardless of where it is stored.

US firms say they share data only on rare occasions, but Europeans don’t seem to be convinced.

The Dutch government is building a sovereign platform on NixOS, driven in part by concerns over dependence on foreign technology providers.

The International Criminal Court (ICC), became a major example of those concerns in 2025 after the US imposed sanctions on ICC officials. The Dutch government noticed that the situation highlighted the risks of relying on US technology providers for critical digital services.

What’s here now is the DAWO project that aims to provide a complete government work environment built around NixOS, including office software, collaboration tools, cloud services, IT management, and AI.

Several Dutch municipalities are already testing it, with the team targeting a 1.0 release sometime in 2027.

Euroopan pitkään kehitetty oma supertietokoneprosessori on valmis ensimmäiseen todelliseen tehtäväänsä. SiPearl on toimittanut ensimmäiset Rhea1-prosessorit Bullille, joka alkaa integroida niitä Euroopan ensimmäiseen exascale-luokan supertietokoneeseen Jupiteriin.

Rhea1:tä on kehitetty osana European Processor Initiative eli EPI-hanketta useiden vuosien ajan. Nyt ensimmäiset piirit ovat lähteneet SiPearlilta Bullille, joka rakentaa Jupiteria Jülichin supertietokonekeskukseen Saksaan.

Digieuron anonymiteetista alkaa nyt näkyä suoranaisia valheita mediassa.

“Käyttö tarjoaisi saman yksityisyyden ja anonymiteetin kuin käteinen raha.” => Ei pidä paikkaansa. Viranomaiset seuraavat jokaista digieurolla tehtävää maksutapahtumaa.

Digieuron ideana on siirtää maksutapahtumien seuraaminen kaupallisilta toimijoilta viranomaisille. Viranomainen “lupaa” olla käyttämättä seurantatietoja väärin. Mutta jokaisen maksutapahtuman tiedot jäävät talteen.

Pian voit käyttää digi­euroa maksu­kortin sijaan – käteinen säilyy silti maksu­välineenä
Vuodelle 2029 kaavailtua digi­euroa voisi käyttää maksamiseen maksu­sovelluksissa, verkko­kaupoissa sekä suurimmissa kivijalka­liikkeissä.
https://yle.fi/a/74-20233341?origin=rss&fbclid=IwdGRjcASsebJjbGNrBKx5oGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHiMQM7dqaKwYr0J4MKZzAj3LU6s6yopzcmZoFScvQANgQbeDOLPNhxWb-KRt_aem_RSxEmOkK9VBnrFPP2kpQqQ

The first stable version of the open-source web office suite Euro-Office has been released. This was announced by the leading project partners Nextcloud and Ionos. Euro-Office aims to enable companies, authorities, and other organizations to jointly create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, and to become independent of proprietary offerings such as Microsoft Office or Google Docs.

“Our top priority was to provide a version that users can actually work with. Initially, we cleaned up the code, implemented some security updates, and integrated Euro Office into existing solutions,” summarizes Nextcloud CEO Frank Karlitschek on the project status. Local desktop and mobile applications are not yet available; they are the next step on the list. Full support for open standards like ODF is also a priority. “This will be at the very top of the agenda for the next version,” says Karlitschek.

Euro-Office is initially intended to be integrated primarily as an office module in the collaboration tools of the partners. In addition to Ionos and Nextcloud, Eurostack, XWiki, OpenProject, Soverin, Abilian, BTactic, Open-Xchange, and Office.eu are also on board as project partners. Ionos and Nextcloud are building a development team for Euro-Office, according to their own statements, and the first positions have already been filled.

Guess which one is more useful

OOXML is open and standardized by ECMA International and ISO. Refuted.

odf is also recognized by ISO, so what’s the point?

if they keep OOXML as the standard, it still maintains MS in a strength position by letting them keep control of the format, that they could update and make Euro Office incompatible with the new standard

So, LibreOffice supports both ODF and OOXML (both strict and transitional specs). I imagine the EuroOffice has better support for OOXML, but unless EuroOffice fails to support ODF, there is a path to eventually having all Euro files be ODF. Its just a matter of planning.

“Europe’s first open-source office suite.” That’s how Euro-Office markets itself.

LibreOffice isn’t buying it.

The Document Foundation, the people behind LibreOffice, publicly called out Euro-Office for pushing Microsoft’s OOXML format while waving the open-source flag.

Their words: Euro-Office is acting as a “de facto ally” of Microsoft.

The core issue is that OOXML, Microsoft’s document format, has a history of undermining true open standards. An office suite that makes OOXML its priority isn’t really fighting for open source. It’s reinforcing the very ecosystem it claims to stand against. That’s what LibreOffice thinks.

LibreOffice has spent years building a genuinely open alternative. Watching a newcomer claim that title while playing by Microsoft’s rules is, apparently, too much to ignore for them.