(fra Kommisjonens rapport 5.5.2026)

Europe is currently experiencing a period of profound uncertainty, driven by climate change, sudden geopolitical shifts, and the rapid evolution of digital markets. The EU – and in particular its economy – is confronted with major challenges requiring swift reactions from policymakers and lawmakers. EU competition policy exists to ensure our well-being in the EU by protecting us against distortions of competition that harm the public interest. This is a reminder of the breadth of the competition mandate.

President von der Leyen’s Political Guidelines 1  set out the Commission’s vision for responding to the multiple challenges facing the EU. Central to the Commission’s 2025-2029 mandate is the Competitiveness Compass 2 , a framework designed to allow the EU to regain competitiveness and ensure sustainable prosperity. The Clean Industrial Deal (CID) 3  implements the Competitiveness Compass. Among other things, the CID focuses on closing the innovation gap 4 , securing vital supply chains, leveraging decarbonisation, and enhancing economic resilience.

From the start of the new Commission, Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera took charge of the competition portfolio with a mandate focusing on modernisation, simplification, robust enforcement, and ensuring a clean, just and competitive transition. The Directorate-General for Competition (DG Competition) implements this mandate in the competition field. When enforcing the EU competition rules, the Commission continues to make dynamic assessments of consumer welfare to protect competition and the innovative capacity of EU companies, while contributing to EU resilience and meeting the objectives of the green and digital transitions.

Throughout 2025, the Commission undertook substantial work aligned with its mandate. A major step was the adoption of the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) 5 , which ensures swift and targeted support for the clean and green transition while avoiding fragmenting the Single Market. Moreover, the Commission launched a review of the Horizontal and Non-Horizontal Merger Guidelines to provide a comprehensive, predictable, and lasting framework for all types of mergers and all economic sectors reflecting multiple transformational changes in the economy, ranging from digitalisation to globalisation. Concurrently, the Commission continued to vigorously enforce the antitrust rules against abuses of dominant market positions and other anti-competitive practices that stifle effective competition on price, choice, quality, and innovation. In this context, the Commission is finalising its Guidelines on exclusionary abuses under Article 102 TFEU. The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) 6  contributed to countering anti-competitive and market-distortive activities by firms active in the EU that receive subsidies from outside the EU. Moreover, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) 7 was enforced to unlock digital competitiveness by addressing unfair behaviour of gatekeepers and ensuring market contestability.

The Commission’s competition enforcement in 2025 transformed key EU values into tangible market realities. This work ensured that competition could take place on fair and equal terms, reinforced legal certainty for businesses, and promoted cohesion in the Single Market. It also supported EU competitiveness in strategic sectors, drove sustainable and inclusive growth, and enabled consumers and companies to benefit more from the economic advantages of the Single Market.

The 2025 Report on Competition Policy (ACR) provides a succinct overview of how the Commission has translated political priorities into concrete action 8 . The ACR is accompanied by a Staff Working Document (SWD), which provides a comprehensive account of policy developments, enforcement, and key EU case-law in the competition field. These documents are addressed by the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union (the Council), the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), and the European Committee of the Regions (CoR).