Press Note on the draft EU Merger Guidelines
Brussels, 30 April 2026 – Connect Europe, the association representing Europe’s leading telecom operators, welcomes the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft EU Merger Guidelines following today’s publication.
We will carefully assess the extent to which the draft Guidelines concretely reflect the high-level objectives set out in the Draghi and Letta Reports, as well as in the political guidelines of President von der Leyen. In an increasingly unstable global environment, Europe’s competition policy must adapt to today’s changing market realities and support European businesses’ ability to grow, innovate, invest and compete.
Connect Europe will also assess the draft against the principles set out in the recent BRG report, A Dynamic Framework for the Assessment of Horizontal Mergers.
The new Guidelines, once approved, should provide concrete tools for DG COMP to effectively integrate innovation, investment, scale and capability-building into merger review. These factors are critical to the future competitiveness, security and resilience of Europe’s economy and society.
