The European Commission is signaling a more flexible stance on large-scale mergers and acquisitions that could enhance investment, innovation, and supply chain security, aiming to strengthen European companies’ competitiveness against US and Chinese rivals. Anthony Whelan, head of the Commission’s competition directorate, emphasized that companies should demonstrate the broader benefits of such deals.
Whelan highlighted the importance of enabling firms to achieve scale in order to create so-called European champions capable of delivering improved products, services, and innovation. His remarks represent some of the clearest indications to date that the Commission is reevaluating its traditionally strict approach to corporate consolidation to better support the bloc’s economic ambitions.
This shift follows earlier revisions to the EU’s merger guidelines, which incorporated calls for a more open attitude toward mergers and acquisitions in line with recommendations from former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi. Draghi had urged Europe to enhance its global competitiveness, prompting a reassessment of policies that have tended to emphasize strict consumer protection and skepticism toward government efforts to cultivate large European firms.
Whelan, who assumed his role in April and previously worked with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, acknowledged that some merger proposals may be reconsidered under the evolving policy framework. While he declined to specify the number of potential deals being revisited, he said Brussels is consciously signaling that it will give serious consideration to arguments emphasizing competitive scale and strategic benefits.
Addressing concerns about potential bias, Whelan insisted the Commission remains “colour blind” with regard to the origin of companies involved in mergers, underscoring that any assessment will be based on market realities rather than national affiliations.
Looking ahead, the Commission plans to evaluate merger cases with an eye toward long-term market developments and broader economic challenges. This includes assessing whether deals would better enable companies to secure essential inputs constrained by geopolitical tensions or raw material shortages, to pool resources for high-cost innovation, or to invest in critical infrastructure and networks.
Artificial intelligence (AI) was highlighted as a particular area of focus, given the sector’s high barriers to entry and the dominance of a limited number of US players. The Commission is intent on ensuring competition in developing and commercializing AI technologies is not hampered by anti-competitive conduct in adjacent markets.
Whelan described the AI industry as having oligopolistic features and stressed the Commission’s commitment to monitoring the entire ecosystem to prevent obstacles that could stifle innovation and market access.
Overall, the European Commission’s evolving merger policy reflects a broader strategic push to enable European companies to scale more effectively and compete on a global stage, balancing traditional competition concerns with new economic and geopolitical realities.