The EU Commission publishes its findings of the evaluation of procedural and jurisdictional aspects of EU merger control and new guidance on the application of Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation

On 26 March, the European Commission (“EC”) published its findings of the evaluation of procedural and jurisdictional aspects of EU merger control, and new guidance on the application of Article 22 of the EU Merger Regulation (“EUMR”) [1] encouraging Member States to refer more transactions to the EC for review, even where the transaction does not meet any EU or national thresholds. The EC explicitly singled out the digital and pharma/biotech sectors as areas in which potentially anticompetitive mergers have escaped scrutiny, leading the EC to revise its policy on Article 22 EUMR [2]. Referrals may be requested in relation to both proposed and completed transactions. Baker Botts’ Life Sciences Antitrust and Competition team noted this abrupt shift in EU merger control policy and discusses