Takeaways
- When Margrethe Vestager begins serving her second term as European Competition Commissioner, the commission is expected to discuss whether EU merger control rules need to change as Europe works to shape its industrial policy.
- Today, Sept. 10, European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen announced she selected Vestager to be executive vice-president for digital policy as well as European competition chief.
- The European Parliament’s hearings for commissioners-designate are expected to begin at the end of September. The mandate of the current commission ends Oct. 31.
Whether EU merger control rules should be changed as Europe develops its industrial policy is expected to be a major agenda item during Margrethe Vestager’s second term as European Competition Commissioner.
Today, Sept. 10, European Commission President-elect Ursula von der Leyen announced she selected Vestager to be European competition chief as well as lead the EC’s digital policy as an executive vice-president. In her mission
letter to Vestager, Von der Leyen declared that competition will have an important role in Europe’s industrial strategy and that she wanted Vestager to “co-lead our work on a new long-term strategy for Europe’s industrial future.”
In addition to her mentions of industrial policy, Von der Leyen called for speedier antitrust investigations. She also said Vestager should “actively contribute to stronger global cooperation among competition authorities.”
Laurent Garzaniti, a partner at Freshfields in Brussels, said that Vestager in her new role will be in charge of overseeing the current review of merger control rules, which was “inspired by some who want to see some relaxing of the current rules and Europe industrial policy playing a greater role in the assessment of mergers.” He added that the reappointment of Vestager “is clearly a vote of confidence” in her previous work as Competition Commissioner.
Another antitrust practitioner based in Brussels told Reorg M&A that Vestager’s nomination may be seen as a confirmation of the importance of the EC’s Directorate-General for Competition in discussions about industrial policy.
In February, the EC announced its
decision to block the merger between Alstom's and Siemen’s rail businesses, despite assertions from France and Germany that it would be an economic error to prevent the companies from creating a European champion. Vestager said in a statement that the “companies were not willing to address [the commission’s] serious competition concerns.” In a
paper published in March, the EC’s European Political Strategy Centre said the decision “triggered a new phase in Europe’s ongoing debate on industrial policy.”
Vestager’s decision on the deal indicates that during her second term she will push back against attempts by member state governments to adopt merger control rules to allow industrial considerations to be taken into account in competition reviews of transactions.
The list of commissioners-designate that Von der Leyen introduced today still needs to be approved in full by the European Parliament. Candidates for commissioner positions go through a thorough parliamentary vetting process.
Parliament’s hearings for commissioners-designate are expected to begin at the end of September. The mandate of the current commission ends Oct. 31.
--Alex Wilts