Recent developments in EU merger control: an overview
Recent developments in EU merger control: an overview
💡Last week, Emma Fransen and Camille Verstraete attended the European Competition Law Tuesdays' session on recent developments in EU merger control, hosted by Centre de droit européen - Université libre de Bruxelles. Their key takeaways from the presentation of DG COMP’s Deputy Director for Mergers Guillaume Loriot?
📊 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤
• The Court of Justice issued a landmark judgment in the Illumina/Grail case, in which it found the EC's broad interpretation of Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) to be invalid. EU and national competition authorities can therefore no longer rely on Article 22 EUMR to secure a review of below-threshold transactions in their quest to prevent e.g. killer acquisitions.
• 398 merger filings were submitted to the EC for review in 2024. Of these, 89% have been reviewed under the simplified procedure following the introduction of the 2023 merger simplification package.
• There were only 8 commitment decisions, with 5 of them concluded in phase 1. We note that all decisions involved structural remedies (such as divestments) as opposed to behavioral remedies.
• Only 5 filings entered a phase 2 review, with 2 of them subsequently being abandoned and 3 phase 2 decisions.
• The EC maintained its attention to horizontal consolidation across industries, mainly in consumer markets such as air transport, telecoms, agricultural products, and sports footwear.
🔍 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝
• We are curious to see how the new EC will be addressing novel market dynamics such as digital ecosystems and non-price competition factors, potentially starting with a review of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines.
• It will be of paramount importance to keep monitoring the EU and national competition authorities’ approach regarding below-threshold transactions in the aftermath of the Illumina/Grail judgment of the Court of Justice. We are on the lookout for further developments and legislative changes with respect to the EUMR, national call-in power, and the use of alternative powers such as those addressing abuses of dominance or anti-competitive agreements to investigate potentially contentious transactions
𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨?
• The EUMR can be found here: https://lnkd.in/e3EBFU2S
• The Illumina judgment of the Court of Justice can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eJh22DED
• Subscribe to our contrast connects seminar ‘Knipperlichten’ (in Dutch): https://lnkd.in/eJzNDmcB
