ANTITRUST | EU Commission Draft Merger Guidelines published

On 30 April 2026, the European Commission (the Commission) published its Draft Merger Guidelines and lunched a public consultation, open until 26 June 2026, as part of its review of existing horizontal and non-horizontal Merger Guidelines (together the Merger Guidelines), adopted respectively in 2004 and 2008. The review aims to ensure that the Commission’s assessments framework remains fit for purpose in light of economic and market developments. The Draft Merger Guidelines seek to modernise EU merger control through a legally and economically robust, evidence-based framework applicable across sectors and transaction types. For dealmakers, they may offer greater scope to substantiate strategic and industrial benefits, while also raising the evidentiary burden for demonstrating long-term competitive effects.

Newsletter n. 118 – May 2026