#52026DC0180EU Competition Policy Report 2025
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
The report explains how the European Commission used competition policy in 2025 to support fair markets, clean industry, digital competition, and stronger EU competitiveness. It covers updates to State aid rules, merger guidance, antitrust enforcement, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, and the Digital Markets Act. Businesses active in the EU should expect continued scrutiny of mergers, dominant digital platforms, cartels, resale pricing controls, foreign subsidies, and public support schemes. Compliance teams should pay particular attention to clean-industry State aid opportunities, digital-market obligations, merger review changes expected in 2026, and tougher enforcement against anti-competitive conduct.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.
Key Changes
- Introduces and applies the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework to speed up public support for renewable energy, industrial decarbonisation, clean tech manufacturing, and related investments.
- Starts major updates to EU merger and antitrust guidance, including merger guidelines and rules on exclusionary abuses, with new guidance expected in 2026.
- Shows stronger enforcement against dominant digital platforms, cartels, resale price restrictions, foreign subsidies, and Digital Markets Act gatekeepers.
Obligations
What this law requires
Member States seeking to grant clean-industry support under the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework must notify aid schemes to the Commission for assessment and authorisation before granting State aid to individual projects, unless another State aid instrument such as the GBER applies.
Companies active in the EU that receive subsidies from non-EU countries must assess whether their mergers or participation in EU public procurement procedures may trigger Foreign Subsidies Regulation notification or Commission call-in risk, including for below-threshold transactions or tenders.
Designated digital gatekeepers must comply with Digital Markets Act obligations intended to prevent unfair practices and ensure contestability, including interoperability-related obligations referenced in the report.
Dominant undertakings operating in the EU must avoid exclusionary abuses and other anti-competitive practices that restrict competition on price, choice, quality, or innovation under Article 102 TFEU.
Businesses entering technology licensing agreements should structure those agreements to comply with the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation framework and avoid anti-competitive licensing restrictions, pending revised rules expected in 2026.