Ius Omnibus has taken part in the European Commission’s public consultation on the review of the Horizontal and Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines, providing the voice of European consumers in a process that will shape the future of EU competition policy. The consultation — held between May and September 2025 — gathered 106 contributions from across 20 EU Member States and several non-EU countries. Ius Omnibus was among the few consumer organisations participating, ensuring that consumer interests are firmly represented in the Commission’s reflection on how to assess mergers and acquisitions in today’s changing markets. In its submission, Ius Omnibus called for merger control rules that prioritise consumer welfare and market fairness. The Association stressed that revised Guidelines must:
Ensure mergers do not lead to higher prices, lower quality, or reduced choice for consumers;
Address market concentration and power imbalances, especially in digital, technology, and essential services sectors;
Adopt forward-looking assessment tools that consider innovation, data control, and ecosystem effects;
Integrate sustainability and social objectives into competition assessments, in line with the EU’s Green Deal and Clean Industrial Deal
Echoing the broader feedback captured in the Commission’s summary, Ius Omnibus noted that most stakeholders find the current Guidelines unclear and outdated. The Association urged the Commission to:
Simplify and clarify the rules to ensure predictability and transparency;
Align competition policy with other EU objectives, such as digital transformation and environmental sustainability;
Reinforce the role of consumer perspectives in merger evaluations.
Ius Omnibus also drew attention to the broader societal impacts of mergers, including their effects on employment, media plurality, and democratic diversity. These dimensions, while not traditionally central to competition law, are increasingly relevant in ensuring that market concentration does not erode economic and social resilience.