European competitiveness, innovation, and long-term economic growth depend entirely on maintaining an open, dynamic, and fiercely competitive market. This is the core message of a newly published joint opinion by the national competition authorities of the European Union’s mid-sized economies (MIDs), including the antitrust watchdogs of Austria, Belgium, Czechia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Greece, and Portugal. Issued in response to the European Commission’s draft of the new EU Merger Guidelines, the joint statement serves as both a welcome nod to regulatory modernization and a firm warning against relaxing anti-monopoly scrutiny in the pursuit of corporate scale.
The competition authorities view the Commission’s initiative to update the guidelines as a necessary step to reflect current market realities and an evolving economic landscape. However, they firmly reiterate that the primary objective of merger control must remain the protection of a competitive environment. This environment is the only reliable vehicle for securing fair prices, high quality, and sufficient choice for everyday consumers and businesses across the Single Market.
Distinguishing Scale from Market Monopolization
The joint statement draws a sharp line between corporate growth that benefits the internal market and transactions that choke out competition. Mergers and acquisitions can undoubtedly drive efficiencies, foster cross-border integration, and accelerate innovation. When scale is achieved through open, pro-competitive processes, it strengthens the European economy as a whole.
The danger arises when the consolidation of large companies leads to an undesirable concentration of market power. The MIDs authorities emphasize the critical need to distinguish scale-enhancing, pro-competitive mergers from those that undermine competitive dynamics. Crucially, the regulators caution against relaxing merger control on the assumption that bigger is always better, noting that artificial or anti-competitive scale ultimately damages consumer welfare and diminishes market innovation.
The SME Factor: Safeguarding Europe’s Economic Backbone
A central pillar of the joint opinion is the protection of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which the authorities describe as the absolute backbone of the European economy. Because SMEs employ a vast number of European citizens, their commercial survival dictates the health of the broader economic ecosystem.
Smaller enterprises are uniquely vulnerable to market consolidation because they rely heavily on competitive, contestable, and open ecosystems. When large firms merge excessively, SMEs are frequently left facing consolidated monopolies or monopsonies, leaving them with limited choices for suppliers or buyers. The regulators warn that excessive concentration disproportionately erodes the bargaining power and commercial opportunities of smaller firms. While global investment capacity is important, the MIDs assert it must not come at the expense of the suppliers, innovators, and upcoming market participants that underpin Europe’s true economic strength.
Rigor Over Speculation: Protecting Legal Predictability
As the European Commission seeks to integrate modern parameters—such as economic resilience, environmental sustainability, and cross-border security of supply—into its merger evaluations, the MIDs authorities push for strict analytical boundaries. While they agree that these public interest factors can be relevant if they directly impact competitive dynamics, they insist that all assessments must take place within a principled, evidence-based framework.
To preserve the legitimacy and credibility of antitrust enforcement, merger decisions must be anchored in robust economic analysis, transparent legal standards, and verifiable data. Regulators stress that both theories of competitive harm and corporate claims of efficiency benefits must meet rigorous evidentiary thresholds. Avoiding speculation is the only way to ensure legal predictability for businesses trying to navigate the market while simultaneously defending the core tenets of competition law.
Ultimately, the MIDs competition authorities conclude that a functioning, highly competitive market remains the single most effective tool for driving long-term European competitiveness. By collaborating closely with the European Commission to dismantle artificial barriers to entry and expansion, these mid-sized nations aim to reinforce both active market contestability and the integrity of the EU Single Market