EU pivots off Zoom and Teams

France’s government began formalizing a break with U.S. workplace software in January, telling public officials to stop using Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Google Meet for videoconferencing and move to a French platform called Visio. POLITICO reported on January 27 that the order was prepared by Prime Minister François Bayrou’s office and presented as part of a broader effort to shift state communications onto domestic tools. The French move has become one of the clearest examples of a wider European debate over whether reliance on American technology leaves governments exposed. POLITICO reported in February that several capitals were reviewing their dependence on U.S. digital services, while Finland said it had gamed out a scenario in which a U.S. “kill switch” disrupted access. The issue is not only video calls. (politico.eu) France has already pushed public-sector staff toward Tchap, the government messaging app, with official guidance saying civil servants should use it instead of foreign consumer services such as WhatsApp, Messenger and Telegram. ### Why did France target Teams, Zoom and Google Meet? January 27 is the key date because that is when France’s government confirmed the restriction on U.S. videoconferencing tools for public officials. (politico.eu) A spokesperson told POLITICO the state would shift activity to Visio, a French service, as part of efforts to reduce dependence on foreign platforms. France had already built part of that policy logic into its messaging stack. (lesbases.anct.gouv.fr) Official material on Tchap says all public agents have been required to use the state messaging application since September, under a July circular from the prime minister urging staff to stop relying on foreign apps. ### Is this only a French story? February 9 widened the picture. POLITICO said eight EU capitals responded to questions about preparations for disruption in U.S. tech services, and several governments said they were taking the possibility more seriously even while acknowledging how hard it would be to replace American systems. (politico.eu) Finland was among the countries cited as having modeled a U.S. tech cutoff scenario. (lesbases.anct.gouv.fr) Ireland, Finland and Sweden were described as among the most dependent EU countries in an analysis cited by POLITICO, while Latvia and Lithuania pointed to Russia-related security concerns as one reason dependence on the United States remains hard to unwind. April and May brought the same argument into Brussels. (politico.eu) POLITICO reported that European governments were trying, and struggling, to move away from U.S. providers, and that EU officials were also debating how to define “European” cloud services for procurement purposes. ### What are governments using instead? Visio is the most concrete substitute named in France’s policy. (politico.eu) POLITICO said French officials would be redirected there for videoconferencing after the ban on Teams, Zoom and Google Meet. Tchap is the parallel example for messaging. French public-sector guidance describes it as the government’s own messaging platform and says the goal is to avoid dependence on foreign applications. (politico.eu) The broader European problem is that replacements are uneven. February reporting from POLITICO said four capitals stressed the scale of building a non-American digital ecosystem for governments and essential services, even as concern about dependence increased. (politico.eu) ### Why is Brussels still tied to U.S. tools? The European Parliament’s own staff guidance shows the constraint. Euractiv reported that Parliament staff were told in February 2024 to use tools including Teams, Cisco and Signal, even as European policymakers were publicly discussing digital sovereignty. (lesbases.anct.gouv.fr) November 2025 added pressure from lawmakers. POLITICO reported that a cross-party group of members of the European Parliament planned to urge the institution to replace Microsoft software with a European alternative because U.S. tech dominance had become, in their words, a liability for Europe’s security and prosperity. (politico.eu) May 2026 has turned that argument into a procurement question. (euractiv.com) POLITICO reported this month that EU officials were working on definitions that could shape which cloud providers qualify as sufficiently European for public contracts. The next milestones are likely to come from Brussels procurement and national contingency planning. POLITICO’s February survey found capitals were still mapping dependencies and crisis responses, while EU institutions continue debating rules for cloud and communications purchases. (politico.eu 1) (politico.eu 2) (politico.eu 3)