Overview
On 30 April 2026, the European Commission published its recast 2026 draft merger guidelines, which would replace the current horizontal and non-horizontal regime with a single, unified framework, with the stated ambition of materially reshaping European Union (EU) merger review.
The draft guidelines provide greater scope for companies to rely on industrial scale, sustainability, resilience and innovation efficiencies through a structured “theory of benefit” framework. Moreover, the draft guidelines introduce a new “innovation shield” safe harbour for transactions involving small, innovative companies, clarifying which types of transactions the Commission is likely to consider as “killer acquisitions” and which may benefit from the new “innovation shield”. At the same time, the Commission will place increased evidentiary weight on internal documents to support pro-competitive arguments.
