COMMISSION LAUNCHES PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON EU MERGER GUIDELINES REVIEW
The European Commission has opened a public consultation as part of its review of the EU merger guidelines. The initiative aims to modernise the framework that guides how the Commission assesses the competitive impact of mergers, taking into account developments such as innovation, sustainability, digitalisation, and strategic sector resilience.
The review covers both the 2004 horizontal merger guidelines and the 2008 non-horizontal merger guidelines, seeking to align them with today’s economic and geopolitical realities. It reflects emerging priorities from enforcement practice, case law, and the Commission’s broader policy objectives, including those outlined in the Political Guidelines, EVP Ribera’s mission letter, and the Competitiveness Compass.
To support the consultation, the Commission has published seven discussion papers on key topics: market power, innovation, decarbonisation, efficiencies, digitalisation, labour and defence considerations. Stakeholders are invited to provide feedback via a general consultation and a more technical in-depth questionnaire, both open until 3 September 2025.
The outcome of the consultation will inform the update of the guidelines, with the goal of ensuring a predictable, evidence-based approach to merger control that continues to promote dynamic and effective competition across the internal market.
Further information and the consultation links are available on the Commission's competition webpage.