The European Commission is asking companies to hold off on filing antitrust documents relating to planned mergers and acquisitions in the wake of the rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak.

Due to the disruption sparked by the spread of COVID-19, the European Union's executive arm said Monday that companies in the midst of merger proceedings should put off submitting their antitrust filings until further notice. Caused by the new coronavirus, COVID-19 has resulted in more than 6,500 deaths worldwide as the governments across the world try to contain it.

"Due to the complexities and disruptions caused by the coronavirus, companies are encouraged to delay merger notifications originally planned until further notice, where possible," a spokesperson said.

This is because the commission's competition arm is likely to face difficulties in collecting information from third parties, such as customers, competitors and suppliers, because of the outbreak.

Commission services may also face limitations in terms of access to information and databases and in terms of information exchanges in light of the commission's remote working measures, which may also contribute to difficulties with antitrust filings, the commission's website says.

The competition unit has also opened temporary facilities to allow some submissions to be made online rather than in person.

The measures are part of a broader package of changes at the commission aimed at reducing the spread of the virus, including moving to teleworking as the new "default working method."

A spokesperson for the commission told Law360 that these measures are intended to "respect the experts' advice on social distancing."

"This will affect to some extent our current working habits, but the directorate-general for competition is prioritizing actions to fulfill its mission and meet legal deadlines," the spokesperson said.

Regulators and lawmakers across the U.K and Europe are taking steps to ease the massive impact the novel coronavirus is expected to have on the financial system.

The European Banking Authority said Friday that it is delaying this year's biennial stress test for banks until 2021 to allow lenders to focus on their operations and support their customers during the pandemic.

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority on Friday temporarily banned the short selling of more than 150 Spanish and Italian stocks listed on the London Stock Exchange, including banks, luxury car maker Ferrari and the Juventus football club.

The European Central Bank on Thursday relaxed a number of capital requirements for EU banks to offset the impact that the coronavirus is having on the economy.

--Additional reporting by Joanne Faulkner and Najiyya Budaly. Editing by Tom Mudd.

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