On 23 January 2020, the European Commission announced that the provisional deadline for its phase II investigation in Case M.9097 Boeing/Embraer has been suspended for a second time under the EU Merger Regulation, art 11(3), from 21 January 2020. During phase I, the Commission was concerned the proposed transaction may remove Embraer as the third largest global competitor in the already highly concentrated commercial aircraft industry. The timing of the phase II investigation coincides with the decision by the US government to impose various trade tariffs following the World Trade Organisation’s decision in relation to subsidies given to Airbus by EU Member States.

On 23 January 2020, the European Commission announced that is has cleared the acquisition of newly created joint venture AB Mauri Yihai Kerry China Investment Holding Company Limited (AB Mauri Yihai Kerry China) by Associated British Foods (ABF) and Wilmar International Limited (Wilmar) (Case M.9574). This operation has been conducted through ABF's subsidiary, AB Mauri China Limited (ABM) and Wilmar's subsidiary, Yihai Kerry Arawana Holdings Co. Ltd. (YKA). The joint venture, a Chinese-based company, will be mainly active in the manufacturing, sales and distribution of yeast, bakery ingredients and bakery fats in China. ABF, a UK-based company, is active, among other sectors, in the production of baking ingredients. Wilmar, a Singaporean-based company, is active, among other sectors, in the cultivation of oil palms and the manufacturing of consumer products like fats. ABM, also a Chinese-based company, is also active in the production of yeast and bakery ingredients. YKA, also a Chinese-based company, invests mainly in the edible oils sector. The Commission found the proposed transaction would not raise competition concerns because the joint venture will have no assets or activities in the EEA.

On 6 March 2020, the European Commission conditionally cleared the creation of the joint venture INWIT by Telecom Italia and Vodafone after a phase I investigation (Case M.9674).  INWIT is a joint venture which will bring together Telecom Italia's and Vodafone Italia's telecommunication towers located in Italy and will rent space on these towers mainly to telecommunication operators.  The Commission was concerned that the transaction would have combined under the ownership of Telecom Italia and Vodafone a very large pool of towers, which could lead to a reduction in competition in the market for renting space on towers to telecommunication operators and also the shutting-out of telecommunication operators from the market.  To address these concerns, the Commission accepted a package of commitments, including INWIT making available, on reasonable and non-discriminatory, free space on 4,000 towers. The creation of the joint venture is part of a broader set of cooperation agreements with which Telecom Italia and Vodafone aim at a fast roll-out of 5G in Italy; as a result of the Commission’s investigation, Telecom Italia and Vodafone have decided to scale down their active sharing, to ensure there remains sufficient competition.

This summarises completed EU merger enforcement actions since 2014. For information on ongoing EU merger enforcement actions, see EU mergers—ongoing cases tracker. For information on completed Commission phase I merger investigations, see EU phase I mergers—closed cases tracker. For information on completed Commission phase II merger investigations, see EU phase II mergers—closed cases tracker For details of appeals before the General Court, see General Court appeals—ongoing cases tracker; for details of appeals before the Court of Justice, see Court of Justice appeals—ongoing cases tracker. 2023 Case Industry sector Issues Decision Illumina/GRAIL (M.10493, M.10483, M.10938 and M.10939) Manufacture of basis pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations Gun jumping •

A ‘merger’ will fall within the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) and require notification to the European Commission if it meets minimum financial thresholds. In

The below tracks live European Commission merger investigations. For information on completed investigations see EU phase I mergers—closed cases tracker and EU phase II mergers—closed cases tracker. For information on completed EU merger enforcement actions see EU mergers enforcement actions—closed cases tracker. NOTE—completed merger investigations are moved from this document to the case trackers for closed cases within seven days of the final Commission decision. For details of appeals before the General Court, see General Court appeals—ongoing cases tracker. For details of appeals before the Court of Justice, see Court of Justice appeals—ongoing cases tracker. Phase I investigations Parties (Case number) Industry sector Date notified Deadline Vitamin Well Group/Empwr Nutrition Group (M.12548) Manufacture of other food products 25/09/2026 30/10/2026 (simplified merger procedure) Itouchu/Dentsu/Dentsu Soken (M.12635) Computer consultancy and computer facilities management activities 23/09/2026 28/10/2026 (simplified merger procedure) Blackstone/Essendi/Hotel Portfolio (M.12542) Hotels and similar accommodation 23/09/2026 28/10/2026 (simplified merger procedure) GIM/EFMS/AES (M.12435) Electric power generation, transmission and distribution 23/09/2026 28/10/2026 (simplified merger procedure) OCS/Mitie (M.12591) Combined facilities support activities 22/09/2026 27/10/2026

The EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) empowers the European Commission (the Commission) to accept remedial undertakings as a condition of a phase I clearance or after a phase II in-depth investigation (under the EUMR, remedies are known as 'commitments'). The Commission has shown flexibility and novelty in fashioning remedies, preferring conditional clearances to outright prohibitions. The Commission cannot impose commitments, although it can put pressure on the parties to offer suitable commitments if there are competition concerns. The Commission is also willing to provide general guidance on the appropriateness of what commitments to offer. Large global transactions between close competitors can still be cleared if appropriate remedies can be found which, at the same time, do not call into question the economic rationale of the transaction itself. For example, in Ball/Rexam (M.7567), where the parties were the two leading manufacturers of beverage cans in the world (and in Europe) with a combined market share in the EEA of 69%, the Commission accepted commitments which enabled it to conditionally clear the transaction. Likewise, in Wabtec/Faiveley Transport (M.7801),

A ‘merger' (constituting a ‘concentration’ within the meaning of the EU Merger Regulation—EUMR) will fall within the EU merger rules and require notification to the European Commission (the Commission) if it meets minimum financial

Below is a summary of timelines for merger investigations by the European Commission (the Commission). All timings are based on the number of working days following receipt of a complete notification (ie not including weekends and the Commission public holidays). For more detail on European Commission merger investigations, see further An overview of the EU merger investigation process. Phase I investigations Working days Action Before the clock starts Pre-notification discussions Day of notification (Day 0) Submission of the completed Form CO. The Phase I review period starts on the following working day. Day 15 Usual time for formal state-of-play meeting between the Commission

MLex: A large majority of EU governments approved the proposal on 2 June 2025 to restrict Chinese medical device makers’ access to the EU’s public procurement contracts worth more than €5m. The move aims to level the playing field for domestic companies, which face access barriers in China. EU trade chief Maroš Šefčovič is scheduled to meet with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao in Paris on 3 June 2025, to continue discussions aimed at resolving the dispute.

MLex: Brussels has taken a new step toward ‘targeted’ legislation on AI and copyright, seeking feedback on whether existing EU rules are sufficient to support licensing, transparency and enforcement in the generative AI market ahead of a possible 2027 proposal. The European Commission will also address deepfakes of performers and piracy of live-streamed events, as creative industries and tech companies push competing visions for the future framework.

MLex: The European Commission is considering making a key EU consumer law, the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, directly applicable across the whole bloc so it has direct enforcement powers in the biggest cross-border consumer cases, an official has said. The move is expected to be included in legislation due later in 2026 to protect consumers from manipulative online practices.