How should sustainability considerations be reflected in European Merger control?

Against the backdrop of the European Commission’s draft merger guidelines, our latest episode explores how sustainability can be given appropriate weight when assessing mergers.

Helen Jenkins is joined by Simon Holmes, a Member of the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal and Visiting Professor in Law at the University of Oxford, and Nicole Rosenboom, a Partner at Oxera. Together, they discuss how the draft guidelines make sustainability a central consideration in market assessment in two ways.

First, sustainability is recognised as a parameter of competition. Alongside more familiar factors such as price, product quality and range, businesses compete on the sustainability of their offerings. Second, a merger may generate sustainability benefits that would not otherwise be achievable.