In May 2025, the European Commission launched a major public consultation on its review of the EU horizontal and non-horizontal merger guidelines ("Guidelines"), seeking views from a broad range of stakeholders on how to adapt the EU merger control framework to account for transformational changes in the EU economy, ranging from digitalisation and globalisation to decarbonisation, since the Guidelines were introduced 20+ years ago (the "Consultation"). Responses to the Consultation were submitted last week.
Weil's response to the Consultation
In our response, we call on the Commission to aim for evolution – not revolution – of the existing Guidelines and to ensure that the EU merger regime remains rooted in consumer welfare principles. Ultimately, key to the success of the Commission's review will be ensuring that the Commission delivers on its intent to deliver a "refreshed yet legally and economically sound, predictable, and evidence-based analytical framework, for all types of mergers and all economic sectors", avoiding undue uncertainty and unpredictability that would risk stifling pro-competitive mergers.
For these reasons, we push back on the more radical changes contemplated in the Consultation, such as the introduction of rebuttable presumptions of harm and broader public policy considerations into EU merger reviews. We caution against the risk of introducing a regime which would result in (actual or perceived) over-enforcement, and encourage the Commission to be mindful of the impact that changes would have on the burden merging parties would face both in evaluating the risk of substantive concerns being raised in relation to a proposed merger, and in completing EU merger filings.
At the same time, the review offers an important opportunity for the Commission to provide greater clarity on how it will assess the impact mergers may have on innovation, investment and dynamic competition, in particular in digital markets (which often carry unique characteristics not fully anticipated when the current Merger Guidelines were adopted). This includes in relation to so-called 'killer acquisitions', as well as 'ecosystem' and 'entrenchment' theories of harm which have been a particular focus for the Commission in recent years.
You can read our full submission here.
Next steps
After assessing responses, the Commission plans to publish a summary of the main points and conclusions, and to continue engagement with stakeholders, including through dedicated workshops, before putting out draft revised Guidelines for consultation. While there is still quite some way to go (with the revised Guidelines not expected to be formally adopted until late 2027), the Commission's ongoing review can in the meantime be expected to start to influence its decision-making in practice over the coming months.
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