The publication of the European Commission’s Draft Merger Guidelines on April 30, 2026 marks the most significant reform of EU merger control in two decades. The finalized guidelines will replace the 2004 Horizontal Merger Guidelines and the 2008 Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines with a single document.
In “The Draft EC Merger Guidelines: A Transatlantic Perspective,” authors Gregor Langus of Cornerstone Research, Damien Neven of the Geneva Graduate Institute, and Aviv Nevo of the University of Pennsylvania provide a comparison with the 2023 US Merger Guidelines issued by the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
Key Takeaways
- The EU Draft and the US Merger Guidelines have a shared focus on dynamic competition, innovation, potential competition, foreclosure, ecosystem power, entrenchment, and labor markets.
- The EU Draft allows for broader policy objectives, such as global competitiveness, supply-chain resilience, and sustainability, to influence merger decisions alongside traditional consumer benefits.
- The EU Draft significantly expands dynamic theories of harm to innovation.
- The EU Draft’s “theory of benefit” framework suggests a greater openness to recognizing efficiencies, including dynamic efficiencies. It also includes improved sustainability, and resilience among possible efficiencies, but proving these benefits may be difficult.
This article was originally published by the ABA’s Antitrust Source in October 2026.
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