European Commission Has Adopted Revised Market Definition Notice For Competition Cases

• Published date: 02 April 2024
• Subject Matter: orporate/Commercial Law, Antitrust/Competition Law, M&A/Private Equity, Antitrust, EU Competition
• Law Firm: Plesner
• Author: Gitte Holts', Daniel Barry, Jacob Borum, Peter E. Stassen and Rie Paving Mortensen

On 8 February 2024 the European Commission adopted a revised Market Definition Notice (the "Notice"). The Notice, the purpose of which is to define the relevant market, is revised by new and more comprehensive guidance reflecting social and technological changes, such as digitalisation and globalisation. The aim of the revised Notice is to increase transparency and legal certainty in terms of market definition, reduce the Commission's own administrative burden and improve undertakings' internal decision-making.

Background

On 8 February 2024 the European Commission (the "Commission") adopted a revised Market Definition Notice (the "Notice"). This is the first revision of the Notice since its adoption in 1997 and it is the culmination of a prolonged review launched in April 2020.

The revised Notice offers expanded and up-to-date guidance on market definition, which is an important intermediate step in the Commission's assessment of competition cases, including cases concerning anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant positions, and mergers. The objective of market definition is to define the relevant market in order to identify the actual and potential competitors constraining undertakings' commercial decisions. Accordingly, market definition is a tool used by the Commission to identify and define the boundaries of competition between undertakings.

Why did the Commission adopt a revised Notice?

Significant social and technological developments have taken place since the original Notice was adopted in 1997. With the adoption of the revised Notice the Commission has tried to address these changes, for instance increased digitalisation, new ways of offering goods and services as well as the interconnected nature of commercial exchanges.

In addition, countless decisions in competition cases have been made by both the Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union during the 20 years since the original Notice was adopted in 1997. Therefore, the revised Notice also includes updates and clarifications which are necessary to bring the Notice in line with developments in the Commission's practice. Finally the Notice also reflects the policy orientations in the Commission's Communication "A competition policy fit for new challenges" published in November 2021.

Insight into the method for definition of the relevant markets enhances the transparency of the Commission's decision-making, which results in a number of benefits. Firstly, the administrative...