The European Union's Directorate-General for Competition signaled greater openness to corporate consolidation operations in the bloc. The head of the directorate suggested that companies looking to gain scale and innovate will find a more favorable regulatory environment in Europe.
This change in position comes at a time when the region is seeking to create what are called European "champions," meaning large companies with the capacity to compete with US and Chinese tech giants.
The European strategy thus aims to allow companies in the bloc to grow and strengthen themselves through mergers and acquisitions, something that previously could have faced greater scrutiny from competition authorities.
This is the latest signal that European competition policy is evolving to support the formation of business groups that are more competitive at the global level.
