On 30 April 2026, the European Commission (“Commission”) launched a public consultation on its draft revised Merger Guidelines (“Draft Guidelines”), seeking to codify and consolidate developments in its merger control practice over the past decade. The intention is that the Draft Guidelines, once finalised and adopted, will replace the existing horizontal and non-horizontal merger guidelines (“Current Guidelines”) and introduce a single, integrated framework that reflects what the Commission claims is its increasingly broad and forward-looking approach to merger assessment.
While the fundamental legal tests and standards to be applied in the assessment of mergers would remain unchanged, the way in which mergers will be assessed is evolving. For dealmakers, the Commission wants to send a message that it intends to scrutinise mergers through a "wider lens", with greater focus on factors such as innovation, resilience, ecosystems, investment incentives, strategic positioning and
