17th Mar 2026 19:46
(Alliance News) - The European Union is planning to overhaul its merger rules to curb national powers to block corporate takeovers in a bid to help European companies build the scale to compete with US and Chinese rivals, the Financial Times on Tuesday reported.
The proposed reforms reflect growing frustration in Brussels that capitals intervened in a series of significant corporate deals, often to protect national champions at the expense of the single market, the FT said.
"While such intervention is permitted under the treaties and the merger regulation for reasons such as national security, some cases may have unnecessarily hindered scaling-up," said a European Commission discussion paper seen by the FT.
"The revised guidelines could therefore clarify the circumstances in which such interventions are justified, thereby creating greater certainty for businesses," it added. The document is set to be discussed within the Commission on Wednesday as part of a larger overhaul of merger rules.
There are several recent cases that have fuelled concerns: Germany has opposed a takeover of Commerzbank AG by Italy’s UniCredit Spa, Spain has opposed a merger between Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and Banco de Sabadell SA while Italy has used its so-called golden powers in Unicredit’s takeover bid for rival Banco BPM Spa.
EU officials fear such interventions risk fragmenting the single market and undermining efforts to build pan-European companies able to compete globally.
The overhaul of the bloc's merger rule book is highly anticipated by businesses and investors eyeing potential future consolidation attempts, the FT added.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2026 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.