On Thursday 30 April, the European Commission launched a public consultation inviting interested parties to submit comments on the draft new EU Merger Guidelines, according to a press release.
These will replace the current Horizontal and Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines. “This is the most important reform of EU merger control in the last twenty years”, says the press release, which places a strong emphasis on the role of innovation.
This in-depth overhaul of the regulation of mergers and acquisitions is in line with the ambition of several EU Member States to create European champions capable of competing with American and Chinese companies. This was also a recommendation made in Mario Draghi’s report.
“Europe needs bold, innovative companies that can compete on the global stage. We have the talent. Now we must build the environment for Europe’s next champions”, explained the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in this press release.
This public consultation follows a call for contributions, which included an initial public consultation launched in May 2025, and several meetings organised by the Commission for stakeholders.
From now until 26 June, the same stakeholders will be able to respond to the changes proposed by the Commission. The draft Merger Guidelines thus aim to: - support and boost the EU’s global competitiveness; - focus on innovation and investment as part of a more dynamic approach to merger assessment. This includes providing guidance on the assessment of dynamic harm and “killer acquisitions”, while introducing an “innovation shield” for unproblematic mergers involving small innovative companies, including start-ups and R&D projects; - recognise sustainability and resilience as important competitive realities; - update and refine the guidance on the analysis of market power, foreclosure and coordination; - provide detailed guidance on how the Commission will assess merger benefits, referred to as efficiencies, that are advanced by companies, including positive dynamic efficiencies related to innovation and investment, which may take longer to materialise; - present new guidance on when Member States can intervene in mergers that are otherwise unproblematic, in order to protect legitimate public interests.
Links to the draft guidelines and the main points of consultation: https://aeur.eu/f/lrx ; https://aeur.eu/f/lry (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)