Concurrences: Update of the Merger Guidelines: Will the European Commission Keep Market Power in Check?

Update of the Merger Guidelines: Will the European Commission Keep Market Power in Check?

This article was first published in Concurrences on October 1, 2026.

By Claire Lavin

Market concentration has increased over the last two decades across several key sectors in Europe, including consumer goods, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications. Powerful corporations now feel emboldened to infringe competition rules repeatedly, underscoring the need for stricter merger policy.

In response, the European Commission (the “Commission”) has been working to update the Merger Guidelines by the end of the year. This process represents an opportunity to halt further market concentration.

The draft published earlier this year signals ashift away from the formalistic approach that prevailed for many years. However, the document is still far too favourable to large corporations by making allowances for efficiencies and new references to scale.

As merger control is a powerful exante tool that has the potential to make our economies and societies thrive, the final guidelines must find the right balance to serve the right interests and people, and not just a handful of powerful corporations that use theories of benefits to tip the odds in their favour.

This article shares some background to the review and then takes stock of the draft and explains how it can be perfected to ensure that the Commission is adequately equipped to keep its promise to curb market power.