Background and recent developments

Competition policy is a Treaty‑based tool to ensure a level playing field for firms through State aid rules; to prevent abuses of firms' dominant positions and the creation of cartels; and to control mergers so they do not harm the economy and consumers. It is implemented by the Commission, and Parliament plays a role through its annual reports, opinions and involvement in setting broader policy goals through the legislative process. Competition policy is evolving from strict anti‑distortion principles aimed at protecting consumers and a level playing‑field for businesses to a target‑oriented rulebook accommodating crises, sustainability, innovation and the need to strengthen the competitiveness of EU firms. Recent changes have made State aid rules more flexible to ward off economic crises and to help the EU achieve its climate goals and increase innovation and economic growth. Competition policy has also been shaped by the Court of Justice of the EU's rulings, which aim to ensure uniform interpretation and application of competition law.

Commission work

As stated in the 2026 work programme, the Commission aims to modernise the way it assesses mergers, 'to boost innovation, resilience or investment'. This year, the Commission also plans to update antitrust regulations, with a legislative proposal, and to present a new General Block Exemption Regulation that would exempt some State aid categories from being notified to the Commission.

The new merger guidelines will replace those from 2004 and 2008, which apply to horizontal and non‑horizontal mergers respectively. According to the Commission's draft communication, the most important change involves a more holistic approach to merger control by considering innovation, sustainability, resilience, and security of supply alongside traditional market concentration and price effects. Transactions involving R&D, products in pipeline, or emerging markets face closer scrutiny. Deals that strengthen innovation through complementary assets may be viewed favourably, while 'killer acquisitions' of start‑ups (i.e. takeovers designed to shut down the target company to ward off future competition) are to be addressed through the 'innovation shield'. Tech companies labelled as 'gatekeepers' under the Digital Markets Act (DMA) would find it more difficult than other companies to buy a small innovative firm. Mergers enabling scale and investment to compete globally are to be supported if they preserve competition, particularly in defence, critical infrastructure, and technology sectors.

The merger guidelines could be a step towards addressing Parliament's demands in its latest annual report on competition policy, which call for considering 'efficiency gains, including ... economies of scale and sustainability gains ... and allowing companies to form alliances when they contribute to innovation, climate resilience and security'. Parliament's report also supports strict implementation of the DMA, which the Commission has done by fining big US tech firms, most recently Google, despite political pressure from that country's administration.