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| 9. | The Commission’s use of market definition is closely related to the objectives pursued by the various Union competition law instruments: (a) in assessments under Article 102 TFEU, the Commission generally defines the relevant market when assessing the existence of a dominant position (16); (b) in assessments under the Merger Regulation, the Commission regularly defines the relevant market when assessing the effects on competition of a concentration (17); (c) in assessments under Article 101 TFEU, the Commission uses market definition in particular to determine whether an appreciable restriction of competition exists or to establish whether the condition in Article 101(3), point (b), TFEU for an exemption from the application of Article 101(1) TFEU is met (18). In practice, the Commission tends to use market definition when assessing agreements (19) that have as their effect the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition. By contrast, the Commission usually does not define the relevant market when assessing agreements that have as their object the prevention, restriction or distortion of competition, such as cartel agreements, and is under no obligation to do so (20).

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.