On competition policy – annual report 2025

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on competition policy – annual report 2025

(2025/2134(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), in particular to Articles 101 to 109 thereof,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/1925 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 September 2022 on contestable and fair markets in the digital sector and amending Directives (EU) 2019/1937 and (EU) 2020/1828 (Digital Markets Act)1,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on a Single Market For Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (Digital Services Act)2,

– having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 of 20 January 2004 on the control of concentrations between undertakings (the EC Merger Regulation)3,

– having regard to the Guidelines on the assessment of horizontal mergers under the Council Regulation on the control of concentrations between undertakings4,

– having regard to the Guidelines on the assessment of non-horizontal mergers under the Council Regulation on the control of concentrations between undertakings5,

– having regard to the report of 9 September 2024 by Mario Draghi entitled ‘The future of European competitiveness’ (Draghi report),

– having regard to its resolution of 10 September 2025 on facilitating the financing of investments and reforms to boost European competitiveness and creating a Capital Markets Union (Draghi Report)6,

– having regard to the report by Enrico Letta of 10 April 2024 entitled ‘Much more than a Market – Speed, Security, Solidarity: Empowering the Single Market to deliver a sustainable future and prosperity for all EU Citizens’ (Letta report),

– having regard to the report of 19 January 2026 by Jörg Kukies and Christian Noyer entitled ‘Financing Innovative Ventures In Europe’,

– having regard to the Commission communication of 29 January 2025 entitled ‘A Competitiveness Compass for the EU’ (COM(2025)0030),

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 21 January 2026 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on digital networks, amending Regulation (EU) 2015/2120, Directive 2002/58/EC and Decision No 676/2002/EC and repealing Regulation (EU) 2018/1971, Directive (EU) 2018/1972 and Decision No 243/2012/EU (Digital Networks Act) (COM(2026)0016),

– having regard to the factual summary of the contributions received in the context of the public consultation on the review of the horizontal and the non-horizontal Merger Guidelines, published on 29 October 2025,

– having regard to Commission staff working document of 13 October 2025 entitled ‘Evaluation of the Commission Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 on the EC Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees’ (SWD(2025)0330),

– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 13 October 2025 entitled ‘Executive summary of the evaluation of the Commission Notice on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid in the form of guarantees (SWD(2025)0331),

– having regard to the Commission study entitled ‘Ex post evaluation of the implementation and effectiveness of EU antitrust remedies’7,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market8 (Foreign Subsidies Regulation),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 9 January 2026 entitled 'Guidelines on the application of certain provisions of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market' (C(2026)0042),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 26 February 2025 entitled ‘The Clean Industrial Deal: A joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonisation’ (COM(2025)0085),

– having regard to the Commission communication of 4 July 2025 entitled ‘Framework for State Aid measures to support the Clean Industrial Deal (Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework)’ (C(2025)7600),

– having regard to Commission staff working document of 4 November 2025 accompanying the Commission communication on a Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (SWD(2025)0850),

– having regard to Commission Decision (EU) 2025/2630 of 16 December 2025 on the application of Article 106(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to State aid in the form of public service compensation granted to certain undertakings entrusted with the operation of services of general economic interest and repealing Decision 2012/21/EU9 (SGEI Decision), and the Annex thereto,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A10-0000/2026),

A. whereas EU competition policy must be forward-looking, foster EU solutions and innovation, and protect consumers;

B. whereas safeguarding the single market requires uncompromising competition rules, and resistance to external influence, particularly from the United States;

Reclaiming the EU’s strategic autonomy through competition policy, innovation and digital sovereignty

1. Recalls the EU’s strong competition framework as a tool to step up competitiveness across all industries; underlines that EU policies should not be pursued in isolation and that competitiveness concerns cannot be interpreted as shortcomings in competition policy; recalls that EU competition rules must support EU policies, such as those covering industry, trade, consumers and financial services;

2. Firmly believes that the Draghi and Letta reports should be used as a base for setting priorities in the competition field, and calls for these reports to be followed up on;

3. Emphasises the key role competition plays in creating digital market alternatives and reducing dependence on non-EU providers; encourages key infrastructures to be built to boost Europe’s autonomy and innovation, including cloud services, AI infrastructures (data centres and connectivity), and financial market infrastructure to support the EU’s digital sovereignty;

4. Calls for a European preference in strategic sectors;

5. Underlines the importance of important projects of common European interest for financing large strategic EU projects; calls on the Commission to shorten or fast-track notifications as they are burdensome for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);

6. Welcomes the enforcement of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) in order to address distortions caused by foreign investments; welcomes the FSR Guidelines; suggests addressing trade distortions via the FSR and the screening of foreign direct investment alongside traditional trade defence instruments;

An independent European competition authority

7. Calls for a real independent European competition authority under democratic oversight, which is separate from the executive branch to ensure no political interference, and integrates antitrust, merger control, State aid, consumer policy and digital enforcement; stresses the need for adequate staffing, expertise and powers;

Enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) amid global challenges

8. Urges the Commission to fully enforce the EU competition rulebook to safeguard Europe’s regulatory autonomy against political pressures, particularly from the United States;

9. Underlines that effective enforcement can only be achieved if rules to address abuse of dominance (Article 102 TFEU) and the DMA work together, combining ex ante and ex post approaches; calls on the Commission to streamline and better articulate the competition rulebook;

10. Supports enforcement under the DMA; welcomes the Commission’s recent market investigations into cloud service providers, such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure and its two proceedings against Google on Android interoperability and fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory access to anonymised Google Search data;

11. Recalls that enforcement of the DMA is still suboptimal; suggests stable funding through a ‘DMA fee’, similar to the DSA;

12. Calls for the DMA review process, expected to take place in May 2026, to be transparent, thorough and ambitious;

13. Urges the Commission to consider AI and cloud services as core platform services within the DMA; requests the Commission to include SMEs in the DMA review consultations;

14. Stresses that DMA enforcement applies to all market participants regardless of nationality; notes Booking’s gatekeeper status and recalls that the French and Spanish authorities penalised the company over its parity clauses; urges the Commission to take decisive action accordingly;

Antitrust

15. Urges the Commission to use interim measures to stop any practices that harm competition, especially in fast-evolving digital markets; calls on the Commission to modernise Regulation (EC) 1/2003 and Implementing Regulation (EC) 773/2004 in its upcoming review, especially regarding the use of interim measures;

16. Reaffirms the need for strong cooperation between the Commission and national competition authorities within the European Competition Network;

17. Notes current investigations of US-based companies, including the Commission’s preliminary investigation into Visa and Mastercard fees; calls on the Commission to continue this investigation and act to preserve European competition; emphasises the need to review the Interchange Fee Regulation to address rising card scheme fees and ensure a competitive and transparent market for Europeans;

Merger control

18. Stresses that Europe lacks large-scale companies; considers scale as a strategic EU imperative, as highlighted by the Letta report, for competing effectively on global markets;

19. Calls on the Commission to apply competition policies dynamically, adapt them to new market realities, and analyse the effects of concentrations;

20. Calls for an ambitious revision of the EU merger guidelines so they are better aligned with the EU’s industrial and sectoral policy objectives while continuing to safeguard a high level of consumer welfare; insists that while safeguarding fair competition, merger control should not obstruct pan-European mergers creating ‘EU champions’ in key sectors such as telecoms, banking, payments and energy;

21. Calls on the Commission to adopt a forward-looking approach to mergers, taking efficiency gains into account, allowing companies to form alliances when they contribute to innovation, climate, resilience and security, and reflects sector-specific realities beyond prices and market shares;

22. Recalls that competition safeguards consumer choice; notes Netflix’s and Paramount’s interest in acquiring Warner Bros and calls for a thorough review of future audiovisual mergers;

23. Calls on the Commission to detect and prevent ‘killer acquisitions’ (i.e. when a company acquires control of an innovative company to eliminate them as a possible source of future competition), particularly in AI and other strategic sectors; urges the Member States to give national competition authorities ‘call in’ powers so they can review mergers and acquisitions, if this is not already the case;

State aid

24. Welcomes the Clean Industrial State Aid Framework (CISAF); calls for CISAF to be implemented in a way that ensures minimum burden on Member States and prevents them from engaging in subsidy races;

25. Expects the review of the General Block Exemption Regulation to modernise and simplify State aid rules in order to reduce red tape and boost the EU’s competitiveness;

26. Welcomes the adoption of a revised SGEI Decision to enable Member States to support affordable housing projects;

Parliamentary involvement

27. Deplores the lack of information it receives on the revision and implementation of competition rules; insists it receives all the information it requires in a timely manner and is fully involved in the revision and implementation of competition rules;

28. Emphasises the need for transparency with Parliament about all discussions with non-EU countries that may affect DMA enforcement;

29. Promotes the exchange of best practice in international forums, such as the International Competition Network and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Competition Committee; deplores missed opportunities as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States;

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30. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

According to Rule 56(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the explanatory statement is still subject to change and can be amended closer to the vote.

In an increasingly fragmented global economy marked by geopolitical pressure and growing market concentration, EU competition policy must not only ensure effective competition in the Single Market but also defend Europe’s strategic autonomy and regulatory sovereignty. Our rules must be applied without compromise, ensuring that economic success is driven by innovation, efficiency, and consumer choice rather than by the abuse of dominance. Recent external pressures, particularly from the United States, repeatedly challenged our frameworks, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and such interference cannot be tolerated. Competition policy must evolve and become forward-looking, supporting European innovation while firmly resisting external political influence. Europe will not outsource its sovereignty: our competition rules are non-negotiable and they are enforceable on all market actors.

Against this backdrop, our competition rulebook is a central pillar of Europe’s strategic autonomy. The EU competition acquis has long supported broader Union objectives by enabling firms to grow and innovate under fair conditions. Building on the recommendations of the Draghi and Letta reports, competition policy must be adapted to new market realities. This includes actively promoting technology-friendly market conditions, based on open standards and interoperable infrastructures. In this context, cloud services should be recognised as strategic European infrastructure, critical for digital sovereignty. Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEIs) must be delivered faster, through simplified or fast-track notification procedures, particularly for SMEs. At the same time, the enforcement of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) is an important and necessary tool to address distortions caused by foreign state-backed investments. Europe must defend its markets and technological edge.

To deliver on this objectives, effective enforcement is essential to the credibility of the EU competition rulebook. The Union should move towards a strong and independent European Competition Authority under democratic oversight by the European Parliament. Such an authority must be separated from the executive branch to shield it from any political interference, in line with the model of national competition authorities. This would ensure consistent, impartial, and credible enforcement of EU competition. It should be empowered to enforce antitrust, merger control, state aid, digital, and consumer policy rules, and be equipped with adequate human and financial resources.

Europe should also strengthen its international cooperation. European and global partners should make full use of international fora, such as the International Competition Network (ICN) and the OECD Competition Committee, to promote cooperation and convergence in competition enforcement.

When it comes to the DMA, enforcement must be strict, independent, and non-negotiable. The DMA is indispensable to restoring competition in digital markets dominated by powerful gatekeepers. It must apply equally to all market participants and safeguard Europe’s regulatory autonomy from external political influence. The robustness of the EU competition rulebook depends on the DMA and abuse-of-dominance rules working together, combining ex-ante and ex-post enforcement. Nonetheless, recent investigations into major cloud service providers illustrate both the scale and the complexity of DMA enforcement. We observe that the DMA enforcement remains uneven and requires a transparent and thorough review, including of cloud services and AI interfaces with a view to designate them as core platform services. Enforcement of the Digital Markets Act should be supported by a dedicated supervisory fee, similar to the supervisory fee introduced under the Digital Services Act.

In parallel, traditional antitrust enforcement remains the backbone of competition policy and must be modernised to address algorithmic, data-driven market power, and artificial intelligence. Regulation 1/2003 and its implementing rules require updating. In that regard, full cooperation within the European Competition Network (ECN), between the Commission and national competition authorities, is more than necessary. When it comes to Commission enforcement, its use of interim measures remains insufficient and should be normalised to stop anti-competitive practices in fast-changing markets, such as the digital market.

In addition, merger control must also evolve to remain effective in changing market conditions. Merger guidelines should be revised to better reflect innovation, investment, and long-term competitiveness, while safeguarding high consumer welfare and preventing killer acquisitions, notably in AI and other strategic sectors. A forward-looking approach is particularly needed in telecoms and audiovisual markets. At the same time, Europe’s lack of scale in strategic sectors undermines its competitiveness and resilience and calls for a framework that does not hamper paneuropean mergers and thus enables the emergence of European champions in key sectors like telecoms, payment, banking and energy, to able to compete globally and secure Europe’s strategic autonomy. State aid policy must also support the green and digital transitions without fragmenting the Single Market, through the Clean Industrial State Aid Framework, a simplified GBER, and effective IPCEIs.

Finally, competition policy must be subject to strong democratic oversight. The European Parliament must be fully and timely involved in the revision, implementation, and external dimension of competition policy, including all discussions with third countries that may affect DMA enforcement. Transparency and accountability are essential to maintain legitimacy, trust, and public support for a strong and credible EU competition framework. Europe’s rules are our rules: external actors have no veto over how we enforce competition. Our regulatory autonomy is a cornerstone of our strategic sovereignty and has to be defended at all costs.

ANNEX: DECLARATION OF INPUT

Pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure, the rapporteur declares that she included in her report input on matters pertaining to the subject of the file that she received, in the preparation of the draft report, from the following interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register1, or from the following representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies:

1. Interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register

BEUC

OVH Cloud

The European Digital Payments Industry Alliance

Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO)

Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA)

Forward Global

2. Representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies

The list above is drawn up under the exclusive responsibility of the rapporteur.

Where natural persons are identified in the list by their name, by their function or by both, the rapporteur declares that she has submitted to the natural persons concerned the European Parliament’s Data Protection Notice No 484 (https://www.europarl.europa.eu/data-protect/index.do), which sets out the conditions applicable to the processing of their personal data and the rights linked to that processing.