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The European General Court has upheld the Commission's prohibition of Booking Holdings' acquisition of Etraveli Group, endorsing a novel 'reverse leveraging' theory of harm in platform mergers. This landmark judgment establishes that a dominant platform can be blocked from acquiring a business in an adjacent market even when the transaction produces only a marginal market share increase, if it serves to entrench an already weak competitive environment and make it harder for rivals to challenge the incumbent

The European Commission has adopted final Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance under Article 102 TFEU, introducing a "workable effects approach" that narrows presumptions while expanding guidance on objective justifications and recognizing sustainability benefits as valid efficiencies for the first time. These Guidelines replace the 2008 Enforcement Priorities Guidance and are expected to significantly impact enforcement practices across EU Member States and beyond, particularly for digital market

The EU Packaging Regulation introduces sweeping reforms to packaging and packaging waste legislation across all Member States, establishing requirements for the entire lifecycle of packaging from labelling to environmental sustainability. With ambitious targets to reduce packaging waste per capita by 15% by 2040 and mandatory recyclability standards taking effect from 2030, businesses involved in product packaging face significant compliance obligations that will fundamentally reshape how they design, manuf