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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

The European Commission has informed the Netherlands that the rules for the allocation of capacity on the Dutch main railway network may be in breach of EU antitrust rules.
In 2025, the Netherlands had to open its domestic rail passenger market to competition, allowing railway companies to operate on the main lines of the Dutch railway network, in competition with the 100% Dutch State-owned incumbent operator, Nederlandse Spoorwegen ('NS').

The Clean Industrial Deal State aid Framework (CISAF) was adopted on 25th June 2025. One year on, the CISAF helps EU Member States to easily support the development of clean energy, industrial carbonisation and clean technology.
By using the CISAF over the last year, the Commission has:

• Taken a total of 28 decisions
• Approved 29 national measures notified by 15 Member States
• Approved a total of €61.778 in State aid

Together with the National Competition Authorities of the European Competition Network (ECN), we published today a Joint Statement on the implementation of merger call-in mechanisms. It has become increasingly evident that some concentrations that do not meet mandatory notification thresholds may still have a significant impact on competition, to the detriment of consumers and competitive market dynamics. As more and more Member States introduce call-in mechanisms into their national legal frameworks, this Joint Statement comes at a timely moment.
The three-page Joint Statement recognises that call-in mechanisms can be an effective and proportionate tool to ensure that potentially harmful mergers do not escape scrutiny, while also setting out key principles to enhance legal certainty and predictability for businesses.

The Commission’s enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is delivering new interoperability and data portability features for developers and providers of connected devices (such as headphones, smartwatches, and smart glasses). As a result, iPhone and Android users can expect to see improvements in how their smartphones work over the next weeks and months.

The European Commission's first review of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) found that in the first two years of its application, the DMA remains fit for purpose and has opened up new opportunities for businesses and developers, while giving users more control over their experiences and devices, as well as access to more diverse and innovative digital products and services.

The Commission services and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) have agreed to work together to clarify and give guidance on the interplay between EU competition law and data protection law.
This joint work between Commission’ services and the EDPB will focus on selected situations where data protection law is relevant for competition law assessment and conversely to ensure a coherent approach between the two areas of law.

DG Competition will hold on a “Reality Check” to identify good practices on the activities of National Promotional Banks and potential bottlenecks caused by State aid rules.
The Reality Check meeting will take place on Tuesday, 28 April 2026. The representatives from Member States’ national promotional banks, international financial institutions implementing InvestEU and relevant EU associations are invited.

We welcome Anthony Whelan as Director-General of DG Competition. Anthony brings extensive experience across the European Commission, having held several senior roles, including most recently as Deputy Director-General for State Aid and President Von der Leyen’s adviser for competition, digital policy and economic affairs. We congratulate him on his appointment and look forward to working with him in his new capacity.

The European Commission is gathering the views of Member States on a draft proposal for a State aid Temporary Crisis Framework to support the EU economy in the context of the Middle East crisis, as announced on 13 April 2026 by President Ursula von der Leyen. The draft proposal is based on Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which allows aid to develop specific economic sectors also in view of specific unexpected economic risks.

The High-Level Group on the Digital Markets Act (High-Level Group) successfully concluded its sixth Plenary meeting in Brussels, with a focus on advancing cooperation in EU digital regulations. The High-Level Group invited Professors Vicky Robertson, Orla Lynskey, and Belle Beems, who shared their expertise and insights on the future of digital regulation and the coordination between regulatory authorities. 

Today, the Commission and the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) published the individual contributions received in response to the public consultation on the draft joint guidelines on the interplay between the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), launched by the Commission and the EDPB.  The Commission and the EDPB welcome the high level of participation, with over 100 contributions submitted by a broad range of parties, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), trade and business associations, gatekeepers, civil society and consumer organisations, academics, think tanks, law firms, and individual citizens. The contributions show the respondents’ broad support for the initiative and the cross-regulatory dialogue, which is widely seen as necessary to ensure coherence between the enforcement of the DMA and the protection of fundamental rights under the GDPR. 

The gatekeepers designated on 6 September 2023, Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft, have submitted reports on their updated compliance measures under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), outlining the changes they have implemented and measures they have taken during the past year. The gatekeepers also submitted to the Commission updated independently audited reports on consumer profiling techniques.

Today, the European Commission and the United Kingdom signed the EU-UK Competition Cooperation Agreement. The agreement sets a new and clear framework for cooperation on competition matters between, on the one side, the Commission and EU Member State competition authorities, and, on the other side, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority. It is the first dedicated EU-UK agreement fully focused on competition cooperation following the withdrawal of the UK from the Union.
See also Opening remarks by Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera at the signing ceremony of the EU – UK Competition Cooperation Agreement.

EU Member States spent 90% of their State aid in 2024 to support EU priorities, according to the European Commission's 2025 State aid Scoreboard, published today. While overall spending dropped to €168.23 billion in 2024 from €203.35 billion in 2023, Member States channeled more funds towards supporting key EU prorities, such as environmental protection, energy, research, development and innovation and regional development. At the same time, crisis aid measures related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and to the COVID-19 pandemic continued to phase out.

The European Commission published a summary and the individual contributions received in response to the consultation on the ongoing review of the Digital Markets Act (DMA). 
The assessment of these contributions will feed into the Commission's review report to be presented by 3 May 2026 to the European Parliament, the Council, and the European Economic and Social Committee. The regular review of the DMA every three years is a legal requirement, mandated by the regulation itself, to ensure that the DMA meets its objectives and maintains its effectiveness in the evolving landscape of digital markets.

The European Commission acknowledges Meta's undertaking to offer users in the EU an alternative choice of Facebook and Instagram services that would show them less personalised ads, to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This is the first time that such a choice is offered on Meta's social networks. Meta will give users the effective choice between: consenting to share all their data and seeing fully personalised advertising, and opting to share less personal data for an experience with more limited personalised advertising. Meta will present these new options to users in the EU in January 2026.

The European Commission published the contributions received in response to the public consultation on the review of the EU Merger Guidelines. The package includes a Summary of the feedback, along with an Overview of the main trends identified in the replies to the General and In-depth Consultations.
The key opinion trends will be debated during the interactive technical stakeholder workshops. Furthermore, a dedicated conference “Shaping the Future of EU Merger Control” will take place early next year.