EU court confirms Commission’s extended powers in merger reviews

“The General Court’s approval of article 22 is likely to be controversial. It opens up the risk of having to go through a merger review process, for even very small and inconsequential acquisitions,” said Zach Meyers, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.

At the same time, Meyers noted that the court tried to address these concerns by stressing that the cumulative conditions required for the member states to send their request “significantly restrict the Commission’s freedom of action”. In other words, Article 22 is not to be considered a blank check.

“Competition regulators are becoming increasingly aggressive, and are asserting their right to review mergers which previously would have been considered to be extra-territorial. This trend is likely to lead to many more competition regulators around the world looking at the same deal-making even small deals far less quick and certain,” CER’s Meyers added.