European Union: European Commission opened consultation on review of EU merger guidelines

On 8 May 2025, the European Commission opened a public consultation on the review of the EU merger guidelines until 3 September 2025. The review will update the 2004 and 2008 EU merger guidelines, which govern the assessment of horizontal and non-horizontal mergers, to reflect economic changes such as digitalisation, globalisation, and decarbonisation. The revised guidelines aim to provide a legally and economically robust, predictable, and evidence-based framework applicable across all sectors and types of mergers. The update will also incorporate relevant case law and align with broader policy priorities, including innovation, resilience, investment, and sustainability, while maintaining the core objective of safeguarding competition within the internal market.