BEREC Input to the European Commission’s public consultation on the revision of the Merger Guidelines

The EU Merger Guidelines (referred to as Guidelines thereafter) used for the assessment of the competitive impact of mergers - both between actual or potential competitors (horizontal mergers) and between companies active at different levels of the supply chain or in neighbouring markets (non-horizontal mergers) - are now more than 15 years old. Since then, markets have evolved significantly, driven by elements such as innovation, the growing need for resiliency, and varying levels of investment intensity across sectors. Merger assessments have also become more complex. Against this background, on 8 May 2025, the European Commission (EC) opened a public consultation. The aim was to gather feedback from stakeholders on the strategic issues and principles that should be included in the Guidelines, on aspects that have worked well or, by contrast, that need to be changed, as well as practical experience of the parties directly involved in merger cases. This holistic exercise was conducted by the EC until 3 September 2025.

BEREC, as the technical body of the European regulators in electronic communications, seeks to contribute actively to the development and better functioning of the internal market by ensuring a consistent and sound application of the EU legal framework in the field of electronic communications networks and services in all Member States. To that end, and taking due account of the importance that mergers and acquisitions in the telecoms sector have played throughout the last decade, BEREC considers it important to contribute to the EC’s revision of the Guidelines based on its sectoral expertise. On a forward-looking basis, merger control will continue to play a pivotal role in ensuring that competition remains effective, since uncontrolled consolidation in the telecoms sector could lead to tighter oligopolies dominated by a few large players and accompanied by a deterioration of the competitive situation in the network industry under National Regulatory Authorities’ (NRAs) remit.