The European Commission is revising the Merger Guidelines to reflect two decades of decisional practice and case law and to adapt the framework to today's economic and geopolitical challenges.
The Merger Guidelines explain how the European Commission assesses mergers and identify the criteria used to determine whether a concentration may significantly impede effective competition. Their objective is to protect competition and ensure fair and contestable markets for businesses and consumers.
The Guidelines also provide companies with greater transparency and legal certainty when planning mergers and acquisitions.
The European Commission’s initiative to modernize the EU Merger Guidelines and account for the evolving economic landscape and market realities is welcome.
The Hellenic Competition Commission, together with the competition authorities of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Ireland, the Netherlands and Portugal, has published a joint statement on the draft EU Merger Guidelines. The joint statement sends a clear message that:
- European competitiveness and sustainable economic growth are driven by effective competition, which leads to innovation and long-term welfare and remains the core objective of merger control;
- The draft Guidelines acknowledge that certain public interest considerations may be relevant in assessing the impact of mergers, insofar as they are relevant to the competitive process. In particular, considerations such as resilience, sustainability, or cross-border integration within the EU may constitute relevant parameters of competition within a principled and evidence-based assessment framework;
- The internal market benefits from scale when it is achieved through open and pro-competitive market processes and efficient assets reallocations;
- SMEs that supply to, or purchase from, larger firms, are essential to Europe’s economic strength and depend on open, competitive markets.
The joint statement is available here.