European Merger Guidelines: Open Markets Institute Europe Urges Stronger Rules to Rein in Corporate Power
Brussels — The Open Markets Institute Europe has submitted more than 20 pages of recommendations to the European Commission as part of its consultation on updating the EU’s Horizontal and Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines for the first time in nearly two decades.
Open Markets’ recommendations call for a decisive shift away from the outdated “consumer welfare” enforcement framework towards a stronger, more structural approach to merger control that prevents harmful concentrations of power before they occur. The submission urges the Commission to adopt clear legal presumptions to stop dominant firms from growing larger through takeovers, and resist calls to weaken enforcement under the guise of creating so-called “European champions”.
The submission underscores that Europe faces growing threats from domestic corporate concentration and foreign dependency in critical supply chains. Robust merger control is an essential tool to reverse these trends, safeguard democratic institutions, and build a more resilient economy.
“Europe’s markets are at a crossroads. For too long, merger control has failed to prevent rising corporate concentration, leaving citizens, workers, and innovators at the mercy of powerful corporations and foreign tech giants,” said Max von Thun, Director of Open Markets Institute Europe. “The Commission must take this opportunity to anchor Europe’s markets in fair competition, plurality, and resilience—not consolidation.”
Key Recommendations from Open Markets’ Submission:
Expand the objectives of merger control: Move beyond consumer welfare to safeguard workers, suppliers, resilience, media plurality and sustainability.
Adopt stronger structural presumptions: Introduce a presumption of illegality for acquisitions by dominant firms, with a potential ban on acquisitions by “super-dominant” firms.
Reject the ‘European champions’ narrative: Consolidation weakens innovation and resilience, and harms citizens and workers — competitive, diverse markets are the true drivers of prosperity.
Address digital power: Ensure merger rules prevent tech giants from further entrenching dominance, including by considering impacts of mergers on privacy, data protection, and informational plurality.
Protect workers and democracy: Require merger reviews to assess effects on labor markets, consult worker representatives and trade unions, and scrutinize risks to media diversity and democratic debate.
Incorporate sustainability: Evaluate both the positive and negative environmental impacts of mergers.
The full OMI Europe submission can be found here.
The Open Markets Institute was influential in the U.S.’s revision of its merger guidelines under the Biden Administration. Find our work and recommendation here.