Overview

The Commission unconditionally cleared the creation of a 50/50 joint venture between Airbus and Air France for worldwide component maintenance services for the A350 family.The case is the first example of the renewed role of efficiencies in the overall assessment of a transaction. The Parties engaged early on, on a no-prejudice basis: pool synergies and geographic footprint synergies were found prima facie plausible as merger- specific and consumer- beneficial, even if their verifiability ultimately could not be established during the Phase I investigation.

The European Commission's first review of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) has found that the regulation is fit for purpose to address distortions in the internal market caused by foreign subsidies. Its objective of maintaining a level playing field in the internal market is widely acknowledged and remains relevant.Please read the Report on the first review of the FSR, as well as the Questions and answers on the findings of the first review of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation.

The Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF) allowed Member States to swiftly deploy State aid in response to the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. With the evolution of the crisis, the Commission adjusted the rules from immediate emergency support into a tool addressing also the strategic root causes of the energy crisis and accelerate investments in line with the green transition. See also Statistical annex.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on its proposal to amend the Guidelines on regional State aid to keep them up-to-date.The Commission welcomes feedback from all interested stakeholders, in particular national and regional authorities that grant aid. Interested parties are invited to respond to the public consultation on the draft Guidelines by 30 September 2026.

New guidance from the European Commission shows how State aid rules allow EU Member States to provide social support and social investment. This guidance assists Member States in designing State aid measures for social support and social investment, as set out in the Clean Industrial Deal.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the draft of new Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty ('Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines'). The new version will align the existing Guidelines with current social, market and technological conditions. The Commission invites Member States and all other interested parties to comment on the draft by 4 September 2026

In the context of the review of the Merger Guidelines, as a follow-up to the public consultation, DG Competition is organizing two interactive technical stakeholder workshops on key aspects of the review of the Merger Guidelines. The aim of the workshops is to gather views on these important topics of the review and discuss how they could be incorporated in the draft Merger Guidelines. Workshop 1: Scale, Competitiveness and Efficiencies. Brussels, 4 December 2025, 9.00 – 17:00 CETWorkshop 2: Innovation, Investment, Sustainability, Labour and Democracy. Brussels, 20 January 2026, 9.00 – 17:00 CET

To mark its 20th Anniversary, the Chief Economist Team is organising a conference that will bring together leading experts to discuss and reflect about competition economics in a changing world. The event will be a half-day conference (exclusively in-person, with no streaming available) on Thursday 15 May 2025, with opening and closing remarks by Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera and Director-General Olivier Guersent, a keynote lecture by Chief Competition Economist Prof. Emanuele Tarantino, as well as roundtables where contributors from academia, private sector and public sector will discuss about the contribution of economics to public policies, with an emphasis in competition and industrial policies.

On 4 March 2025, Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera hosted her first Youth Policy Dialogue on Empowering Young Talent and Improving Gender Balance in the EU. The event was an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas with the younger generation and listen to their insightful contributions. Here you can see the highlights of event. For more information about the Dialogue, please click here, and for the recording of the whole event, please click here.

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) and the European Commission are organising a remote stakeholder event in the context of their joint work on upcoming guidelines on the interplay between competition and data protection. The event will take place on 15 October 2026 and is an opportunity for stakeholders to inform and support the ongoing work on this topic. The EDPB and the European Commission welcome participation from individuals and organisations with relevant expertise in the topic of the event. They can register until 28 August 2026.

As part of its review of the Merger Guidelines, the Commission has commissioned a study on the dynamic effects of mergers. Prepared by Oxera with leading academic experts, the study will be published on the Commission’s website by September 2026. A dedicated economic workshop will also be organised on 11 September 2026 in Brussels to present and discuss the outcomes of the study. Registrations for the workshop are open.

The OECD and European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP) are organising a conference to continue the discussion on the Draft of the new EU Merger Guidelines, as well as emerging challenges and policy priorities in the field of merger control.The event will feature a keynote address by Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera, as well as contributions from a number of DG Competition's officials.Registrations are now open.

The Commission is launching a public consultation on a draft amendment to the Guidelines on regional State aid, which entered into force in 2022. These Guidelines implement Article 107(3)(a) and (c) TFEU, defining the legal framework for State aid that supports regional development and territorial cohesion. Section 7 sets out the criteria for identifying areas that qualify for such aid; based on those criteria, Member States should notify a regional aid map to the Commission, to be approved by Commission decision, before any aid is granted, whether under the Guidelines or the General Block Exemption Regulation. The current maps apply from 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2027. To allow aid beyond 2027, new maps for 2028‑2034 need to be drawn up. See also the Commission's press release.

The Guidelines on State aid for rescuing and restructuring non-financial undertakings in difficulty set out the conditions under which aid to non-financial undertakings in difficulty may be considered compatible with the internal market and State aid rules, in particular on the basis of Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.Following a broad public consultation and call for evidence in 2025, the Commission has reviewed the Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines with the aim to modernise them, reflecting today's changed economic context, to ensure that they remain fit to meet their objectives. The Commission is now seeking stakeholder views on the this draft of new Rescue and Restructuring Guidelines.See also the Commission's press release.

The procurement aims to obtain a study on the State aid enforcement by national courts in the EU, including a comprehensive overview of the relevant national court cases since the last study carried out for the Commission, i.e. 1st January 2018. Through the Study, the Commission intends to obtain the state of play of the application of State aid rules before national courts, the identification of the main obstacles and best practices arising at national level, as well as recommendations on possible actions to be undertaken by the Commission and at national level to improve the effectiveness and uniformity of State aid enforcement.

Speech by EVP Teresa Ribera at the European Competition Forum,Brussels, 17 June 2026. [...] "The debate today is not just about legal tests or market definitions. Competition policy must be connected to the wider challenges facing Europe: innovation, resilience, energy security, and technological sovereignty. It is a tool to help Europe remain prosperous, respectful, reliable, democratic, and free.The principles of openness, fairness, opportunity, and the rule of law remain valid, but our instruments must evolve to respond to today's realities. I am committed and engaged, but I count on you, researchers, practitioners, lawyers, judges, and authorities.We need to work together to modernise competition policy, challenge old assumptions, and connect the dots. Together, we can deliver a more innovative, resilient, and reliable Europe for our citizens." [...]

Keynote speech of the EVP Ribera at the 23rd International Conference on Competition,Berlin, 12 March 2026. [...] "Competition enforcement can complement political priorities but parliaments decide on political priorities and trade-offs. So, in these uncertain geopolitical times I wish for competition policy that we know is principled, that we work to modernise and that we acknowledge is very relevant, but complementary." [...]

Speech by EVP Teresa Ribera at the 2025 CRA Brussels Conference,Brussels, 9 December 2025. [...] "As European Commissioners it is our duty to stand up, in order to defend values and the enforcement of our laws. As Commissioner in charge of competition, it is my duty to defend the competition toolkit, to enforce competition laws, including the DMA, even in times of weaponisation of trade." [...]

The European Commission has approved a €59 million Slovenian State aid scheme to promote battery energy storage systems, in line with the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal. This measure will contribute to the transition towards a net-zero economy. The scheme was approved under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) adopted by the Commission on 25 June 2025.

The European Commission has approved, under EU State aid rules, two Dutch schemes with a combined budget of €290 million to support sustainable aviation fuels ('SAF'). The schemes will contribute to the objectives of the Clean Industrial Deal to accelerate the decarbonisation of EU industry, as well as of the ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation to boost the supply and demand of SAF and accelerate the transition to climate-neutral aviation.

The European Commission has approved a €149 million (SEK 1.6 billion) State aid scheme for agricultural, fishing and aquaculture companies facing increased fuel and fertiliser prices due to the Middle East crisis.The scheme was approved under the Middle East Crisis Temporary State Aid Framework (METSAF) adopted by the Commission on 29 April 2026.

The European Commission has sent a Statement of Grounds to Temu's owner PDD Holdings Inc. (‘PDD') and its subsidiary WhaleCo Technology Limited (‘Whaleco'), outlining concerns that they may have obstructed an inspection at WhaleCo's premises in Ireland.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether an arbitration award ordering Romania to pay compensation to ten investors for changes to a renewable electricity support measure is in line with EU State aid rules.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess, under the EU Merger Regulation, the proposed merger between Saipem and Subsea7 to become "Saipem7". The Commission is concerned that the proposed concentration may significantly impact effective competition in some offshore engineering and construction service markets.

The European Commission has today launched a public consultation inviting all interested parties to comment on its draft revised Guidelines on State aid to the air transport sector. These will replace the existing Guidelines, which were adopted in 2014. Interested parties are invited to respond to the public consultation by 11 June 2026.

The European Commission has launched today a public consultation inviting comments on the draft of the new EU Merger Guidelines. These will replace the current Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines. This marks the most significant reform in EU merger control of the past two decades.See also the consultation's form, as well as the corresponding COMP Flash.

The European Commission has adopted a temporary State aid framework to enable Member States to support the EU economy in the context of the Middle East crisis. The Middle East crisis Temporary State aid Framework (METSAF) is a targeted and temporary framework to address the effects of the crisis on some of the most exposed sectors of the economy: agriculture, fishery, transport and energy-intensive industries. The METSAF will be in place until 31 December 2026. During its period of application, the Commission will keep the content, scope and duration of the Framework under review in the light of developments in the Middle East and in the general economic situation.See also Remarks by Executive Vice-President Ribera at the press conference on the METSAF.

Executive Vice-President Vestager has informed President von der Leyen about her nomination as an official candidate by the Danish government for the position of President of the Management Committee of the European Investment Bank and requested an unpaid leave for the duration of the campaign. The President has granted the unpaid leave to Executive Vice-President Vestager underlining that during that period the relevant provisions of the Treaties and the Code of Conduct for the Members of the Commission continue to apply.

"I have received a letter from Professor Fiona Scott Morton that she has decided to withdraw and not take up the post as Chief Competition Economist. Having also spoken with Professor Scott Morton, I accept her decision, with regret and full respect for her integrity." [...]

The European Commission has appointed Fiona Scott Morton as Chief Competition Economist at the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP). This Commission department works to ensure that all companies compete equally and fairly on their merits within the single market, to the benefit of consumers, businesses and the European economy as a whole. She will take up her duties on 1 September 2023.

The Commission takes note of today’s preliminary ruling of the Court of Justice in Joined C-258-260/23 Imagens Médicas Integradas e o.The Court considers that, in principle, no priori judicial authorization is required for competition authorities to seize professional email correspondence in the context of inspections in business premises. The protection of individuals against abuse and arbitrariness however requires a legal framework and strict limitations, and safeguards in the form of a full ex post judicial review.The Court expressed a reservation that, where such documents are seized from devices belonging to individuals who use the devices for both private and professional purposes, access may constitute a serious, or even particularly serious, interference with the fundamental rights of the individuals concerned. In such cases, potentially after the devices have been sealed, access must be subject to prior review by a court or by an independent administrative body.The Commission will assess the concrete implications of the ruling on its inspection powers and practice.See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

With the exception of (i) a rule which, in the event of an early transfer of a player or trainer to a new club, would deprive the agent of proceeds retroactively; and (ii) a non-approaching rule vis-à-vis football players agents’ exclusive clients outside transfer windows, the Court did not consider the various rules included in FIFA’s football players’ agents regulation likely to qualify as an infringements by object or by their very nature, but rather likely as having to be assessed by their effects.Consequently, it did not exclude the possibility that such rules could be considered to fall outside the scope of Articles 101 and/or 102 TFEU on the basis of legitimate objectives in the public interest, while specifying that objectives of purely economic nature cannot, on their own, qualify as such.The CJEU considered that the conditions required to establish efficiencies and/or objective justifications may also take into account wider benefits to non-direct beneficiaries or addressees of a specific rule adopted by a sports federation like FIFA, provided that a fair share of the benefits accrues to all users considered as a whole.See also Curia's press release (in PDF format).

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the General Court upholding the 2024 decision in which the Commission found that unlawful investment aid granted in 2017 and 2018 to some large agricultural enterprises was incompatible with the internal market and ordered its recovery. In its judgment, the General Court confirmed that the Commission was right to consider that the absence of the ex-ante proven incentive effect cannot be remedied through the assessment conducted ex- post. The General Court has also recalled that the Commission is generally bound by its Guidelines once it has adopted and published them and given that the Member State did not request a direct application of Article 107(3)(c) TFEU and that the 2014 Guidelines did not depart from the Treaty and are accepted by Member States. Therefore, adhering to the Guidelines cannot be considered as violation of procedural rights of the applicants by the Commission. The General Court also recalls that as the procedure for reviewing State aid provided for in Article 108 TFEU is initiated only in respect of the Member State responsible for granting the aid, only the Member State concerned, as the addressee of the future Commission decision, may rely on actual rights of defence, and that therefore aid beneficiaries cannot rely on rights of defence, including the right to be heard. The Court also concludes that the reasoning of the decision is not flawed and provided sufficient motivation regarding its temporal and material scope.