The European Commission is preparing to relax its long-standing merger rules, marking a dramatic shift in competition policy that would allow European companies to bulk up and compete with US and Chinese giants. The change, reported by the FT's Barbara Moens, would prioritize scale and innovation over hyper-competition in sectors like technology and electric vehicles.

For decades, Brussels treated corporate consolidation with suspicion, favoring dozens of national players battling across the bloc rather than continental heavyweights. The theory was that intense competition would drive innovation, but Europe largely missed out on creating the dominant platforms of the modern global economy. Only a few exceptions like Spotify emerged from the continent.

Under Ursula von der Leyen's leadership, the commission is embracing a more strategic approach where scale becomes a prerequisite for global relevance rather than an antitrust concern. EU competition chief Teresa Ribera told the FT that the changes would encourage "pro-competitive mergers that allow European players to grow and accelerate innovation." The shift could unlock long-stalled consolidation in fragmented sectors like telecoms, where Europe still has dozens of operators compared with just three in the US.