Overview

We have published our latest Competition Merger Brief. This issue contains the following three articles: (i) "Another brick in the wall?" The Commission's in-depth investigation of UMG/Downtown”; (ii) “RTL/SKY DACH - Is Sky the limit? ”; and (iii) “Clarios/Ecobat Germany/Ecobat Austria - "What goes around, comes around": Closing the loop of battery recycling”.

In this second episode of COMPessentials, we take a look at Merger Control, one of the core instrument of EU competition policy.But what does antitrust actually mean? How does it work? And why does it matter for companies, consumers and the wider economy? In this video, we explain the basics and introduce some of the key concepts behind EU merger control, with some interesting enforcement examples.

COMPessentials is a new series of videos explaining the essential concepts behind EU competition policy.In this first episode of COMPessentials, we take a look at Antitrust, one of the core instrument of EU competition policy. What does antitrust actually mean? How does it work? And why does it matter for companies, consumers and the wider economy?Subscribe to the EU Competition YouTube channel for the next episodes.

The Commission’s regulatory dialogues with gatekeepers in the framework of its enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are delivering more fairness and transparency. Businesses which are active on Booking.com in the European Economic Area (EEA) can now freely set their prices and conditions on and off Booking.com, including on their direct sales channel.

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.

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.

On 4 September 2026, DG Competition published a new empirical study on the impact of mergers reviewed by the Commission on innovation and markups  prepared by Professors Joel Stiebale (DICE, Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf) and Florian Szücs (WU Vienna University of Economics).  This study is particularly relevant at the time of the ongoing review of the EU Merger Guidelines, in the context of which the Commission study on the dynamic effects of mergers was also recently published.On Tuesday 15 September 2026, DG Competition organises an online lunchtime workshop to discuss the findings of the new empirical study with economic experts and to compare the findings of the study to other recent research. At the workshop the presentation of the study report by the authors will be followed by a discussion with Fiona Scott Morton (Yale University), Sara Calligaris (OECD) and Giulio Federico (Oxera).

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 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.

The European Commission invites expressions of interest for the role of Non-Governmental Advisors in the International Competition Network (ICN) for the 2026-2027 term.ICN members collaborate with non-governmental advisors, including academics, industry representatives, consumer groups, trade unions, and private practitioners. This collaboration enriches ICN projects by incorporating diverse perspectives.We seek to partner with various ICN-NGAs to ensure high-quality contributions based on broad stakeholder experience. Selected ICN-NGAs will actively engage with the European Commission in drafting and revising Working Group outputs, and participating in seminars, webinars, and workshops.If you are interested in becoming an ICN-NGA and supporting the European Commission, please contact DG Competition at COMP-ICN@ec.europa.eu. The call for interest will be open until 16 June 2026 (close of business).

Speech by Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera at Fordham's 53rd Annual Conference “Building a democratic, competitive and sustainable future for artificial intelligence”,New York, 17 September 2026. [...] "Antitrust enforcement has long been our first line of defence in keeping markets open and contestable. But in digital markets, we learned that the traditional enforcement could sometimes come late as digital markets are very dynamic. And we need ex-ante rules.That's why we have the Digital Markets Act (DMA).Since the start of my mandate, a key enforcement focus has been to stop big tech players from leveraging their dominance of the past into AI. " [...]

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." [...]

The European Commission has fined Kingspan €40 million for providing incorrect and misleading information during the 2021 Commission review of Kingspan's planned acquisition of Trimo, under the EU Merger Regulation ('EUMR'). Kingspan ultimately abandoned the transaction.

The European Commission has concluded that Poland's plan to support the extension of capacity of a factory of truck producer MAN Trucks Sp. z o. o. in Niepołomice in the Małopolskie region is not in line with EU State aid rules. Therefore, Poland cannot disburse the aid.

The European Commission has approved a €170 million Bulgarian State aid scheme for farmers 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 opened an in-depth investigation to assess whether an arbitration award ordering Spain to pay compensation to JGC Holdings Corporation (‘JGC') for changes to a renewable electricity support measure is in line with EU State aid rules.

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 today adopted Guidelines on the application of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ('TFEU') to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant companies. The adoption of the guidelines marks the end of a three-year process in which the Commission consulted extensively with stakeholders. See also the corresponding COMP Flash.

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.

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 European Commission takes note of today’s judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in case C-173/25 P, upholding the 2024 order of the General Court (in case T-716/22) and thus the 2020 Commission negative State aid decision in this case. In its 2020 decision, the Commission had found that the implementation of the Madeira Free Zone aid scheme (Regime III) in Portugal was not in line with the Commission's approval State aid decisions of 2007 and 2013. The objective of the scheme, as approved by the Commission, was to contribute to the economic development of the outermost region of Madeira through tax incentives for companies creating jobs in Madeira and for activities effectively and materially performed in that region. In its 2020 decision, the Commission found that the scheme had been implemented in breach of the criteria set out in the initial decisions approving it. That finding was upheld by the General Court in approximately 50 cases brought against the 2020 decision, including in case T-716/22. Today’s judgment by the Court of Justice upheld the General Court’s ruling in this latter case.This judgment is consistent with the Court of Justice ’s rulings in other appeal cases related to the 2020 decision, especially those brought by Portugal (Case C-736/22 P) and the region of Madeira (Case C-547/23P).

The Commission takes note of the judgment of the General Court of the European Union in Case T-289/24 rejecting Brasserie Nationale’s action for annulment against the Commission’s decision of 14 March 2024. In its decision, the Commission accepted the referral request under Article 22 EU Merger Regulation (‘EUMR’) submitted by the Luxembourgish Competition Authority for the Commission to examine the acquisition of Boissons Heintz by Brasserie Nationale.In its judgment, the General Court confirmed that the Commission is in principle empowered to accept referral requests from Luxembourg, a Member State that does not have a national merger control review system, under Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation, if the conditions for such referral are met. It therefore confirmed the Commission’s power to review the compatibility of Brasserie Nationale’s acquisition of Boissons Heintz with the internal market under the EUMR.

The Commission takes note of today’s judgments of the Court of Justice. In its judgments, the Court dismissed the parties’ appeals and fully upheld a 2022 Commission settlement decision imposing a total fine of €31.5 million on two producers of metal packaging for participating in a cartel.Today’s judgments bring further clarity on the nature of the principles for case allocation and re-allocation between national competition authorities and the Commission, as included in the Commission Notice on cooperation within the Network of Competition Authorities.See also judgment in C-855/24 P, Crown Holdings and Crown Cork & Seal Deutschland Holdings v Commission.