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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →The European Commission is reportedly testing Element Pro, a self-hosted alternative to Microsoft Teams, but anonymous staff comments cited in media reports suggest some users dislike the experience. The account does not establish that the Commission has officially decided to replace Teams, or that staff broadly oppose the trial.
What is the EU’s reported Microsoft Teams alternative?
Windows Latest reported in 2026 that the European Commission had been testing Element Pro since summer 2026 as a self-hosted backup for Teams. In this setup, the service is described as running on Commission servers rather than relying on the same hosting arrangement as a typical cloud service.
This remains secondary reporting: no official Commission announcement confirming the test was published, and the underlying POLITICO material was not available to confirm. The available reports do not establish whether the pilot has ended, expanded, or become a formal replacement program.
Why did some reported staff comments criticize Element Pro?
Windows Latest and Brussels Signal attributed blunt reactions to unnamed Commission officials discussing the trial in internal exchanges. One reportedly called Element Pro “absolute sh*t.” Another said the United States would “instantly win the war” if it cut the EU off from technology. These are anonymous, second-hand remarks—not named public statements or a measured assessment of staff opinion.
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The “war” remark appears to express concern about Europe’s dependence on US technology, not a technical judgment about Element Pro. The reporting also quoted an unnamed official defending self-hosting, who said that with Teams “all we have is a guarantee that Microslop will not peek inside.” The available reporting does not establish the technical or legal accuracy of that claim.
Element CEO Matthew Hodgson, quoted by Windows Latest, acknowledged the difficulty of switching: “Change is always painful, particularly if it’s a switch from a much-used program like Teams.” The reports offer no independent, matched comparison of the two products’ usability, performance, security, or accessibility.
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Does self-hosting make Element Pro more sovereign or secure?
Hosting control, legal jurisdiction, security, and usability are related but distinct questions. Running a service on an institution’s own servers can give it more direct control over deployment and where data is stored. That fact alone does not prove that the service is more secure, determine every legal route through which data could be accessed, or show that it meets users’ needs better.
The reported comments present a sovereignty argument alongside complaints about the product. They are not a security audit, legal analysis, or evidence that Microsoft inspects Teams content. The reports do not provide enough information to score Element Pro against Teams on hosting, jurisdiction, independent security testing, integration with existing systems, support maturity, accessibility, or migration and operating costs.
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How does the test relate to the EU’s dispute with Microsoft over Teams?
The Commission’s reported Element Pro test is separate from its competition case. In September 2023, the Commission said it had preliminarily found that Microsoft may have breached EU competition rules by tying Teams to Office products. That was a Statement of Objections, not a final finding in the cited source. The available reporting does not show that this case caused the Element Pro test.
There is also a separate national example: on 2 February 2026, the Associated Press reported that France planned to move 2.5 million civil servants away from US videoconferencing providers, including Teams, to the French Visio service by 2027. France’s plan is not the Commission’s reported Element Pro project.
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- Powerful Pass-Through Charging: Supports up to 85W pass-through charging so you can power up your laptop while you use the hub. Note: Pass-through charging requires a charger (not included). Note: To achieve full power for iPad, we recommend using a 45W wall charger.
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