The advances in mass production techniques and the increasing complexity of many manufactured products led firms in other industries to integrate forward not only into distribution but also into retailing; this vertical integration reduced transactions costs even more and further increased the optimal size of firms.
That would only happen at a later stage, based on a dedicated decision, and only after the Parliament and the Council of the EU have adopted the legislative act. All EU policymakers should continue playing their part, and I am counting on this Parliament to swiftly start working on the legislative proposal which the European Commission intends to publish in a few months.