European Union: Antitrust/Competition Law

Between €0.30 and €0.50 more per liter at the gas station within just a few weeks: the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered a price development in many countries around the world on a scale last seen...

Ireland's proposed Media Regulation Bill introduces sweeping reforms to the country's media merger regime, expanding regulatory oversight to include social media platforms and streaming services while transferring assessment authority from ministerial to independent regulatory control. The legislation modernizes decades-old definitions of media businesses and implements new notification thresholds that could significantly increase the volume of transactions requiring regulatory approval.

The Italian Competition Authority has launched investigations into three major supermarket chains for allegedly conducting unauthorized marketing campaigns that exploited Olympic symbols and imagery during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games.

France has enacted legislation raising merger control thresholds by approximately 50-60%, aiming to reduce the number of transactions requiring review by the French Competition Authority (FCA) by 20-30%.

The European Commission has published draft merger guidelines that consolidate and significantly update its analytical framework for assessing mergers, introducing new considerations for innovation, privacy, sustainability, resilience, and labor markets.

The European Commission's draft Guidelines on merger assessment introduce a fundamental shift in how transactions are evaluated, balancing the need for European industrial strength against competition preservation.

The Italian Antitrust Authority (IAA) has fined Amica Chips, Pata and Preziosi Food more than EUR23 million for an anticompetitive agreement relating to the supply of savory snacks produced...

On May 12, 2026, the Cartel Division (Kartellsenat) of the BGH handed down a landmark ruling on the limits of bundled cartel damages claims brought by claims collection vehicles.

On 29 January 2026, the CJEU delivered an important ruling in Case C-286/24 (Meliá Hotels International, S.A. v Associação Ius Omnibus) concerning the disclosure of evidence in competition damages actions.