On 7 July 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the 2025 annual report on EU competition policy, setting out its formal position and recommendations for the future direction of EU competition law enforcement. The resolution calls for a more proactive and strategically oriented competition framework that balances consumer welfare with competitiveness, innovation, resilience, and strategic autonomy, impacting Big Tech, SMEs, and national competition authorities.
The resolution, adopted in plenary, constitutes the Parliament's input into the EU policy process, evaluating the European Commission's competition policy report for 2025. It advocates for a new competition tool (market investigation tool) to address structural market failures not covered by Articles 101 and 102 TFEU, and urges full enforcement of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), including designating Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services as gatekeepers for cloud services and addressing AI-driven services under the DMA. The Parliament also calls for exploring a 'DMA fee' for sustainable enforcement financing.
On antitrust enforcement, the resolution calls for modernising Regulation (EC) 1/2003 and Regulation (EC) 773/2004, introducing binding procedural time limits, strengthening interim measures, and enhancing the deterrent effect of fines. For merger control, it advocates for an ambitious revision of EU merger guidelines to reflect new market realities, supporting pro-competitive scaling up of EU companies to create 'EU champions' while safeguarding consumer welfare, and detecting 'killer acquisitions'. The resolution also welcomes the Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) but warns against subsidy races, noting that over three-quarters of State aid is concentrated in two Member States.
The resolution calls for an impact assessment on establishing a dedicated European competition authority and stresses the need for adequate staffing and resources for DG Competition. It demands a structured dialogue between the Commission and Parliament on competition policy and invites the European Council to adopt a decision enabling the ordinary legislative procedure for competition policy. Sector-specific provisions address competition in energy, critical raw materials, defence, banking, agriculture, media, and sports.
The resolution signals Parliament's intent to intensify enforcement pressure on Big Tech, particularly in cloud computing and AI, and to reform merger control to facilitate pan-European champions while preventing killer acquisitions. It also promotes stricter oversight of foreign subsidies and foreign direct investment, and enhances parliamentary scrutiny in competition policy-making. The resolution will now be transmitted to the Commission and Council for consideration, with potential downstream effects on pricing, consumer welfare, and market entry for SMEs.