EU officials criticize Element Pro, the Commission's Microsoft Teams substitute
The European Commission has deployed Element Pro, a self-hosted messaging tool from UK firm Element, as a sovereign alternative to Microsoft Teams. Politico reported that internal staff messages described the software harshly, with officials calling it confusing and of little value, and one saying the U.S. would win instantly if it cut off its tech given how Teams compares. Element CEO Matthew Hodgson acknowledged early 'teething issues' and said switching tools always causes friction.