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| 21. | Ninth, the Commission may take into account expected transitions in the structure of a market when the case calls for a forward-looking assessment. Structural market transitions differ from considerations relating to market entry by potential competitors (‘potential competition’) (41) in that they affect the general dynamics of supply and demand in a market and therefore the general reactions to changes in relative supply conditions. Such structural market transitions should be distinguished from changes that only affect individual undertakings or customers offering or demanding products in the relevant markets. Structural market transitions can affect the definition of the relevant product market, for example where there is sufficient probability that new types of products are about to emerge on the market (42), or the definition of the relevant geographic market, for example where there are impending technological changes or impending changes in the regulatory framework (43). The Commission takes expected short-term or medium-term structural market transitions into account where they would lead to effective changes in the general dynamics of supply and demand within the period that is relevant for the Commission’s assessment (44). For the Commission to be able to do so, there must be reliable evidence (45) that there is sufficient likelihood that the projected structural changes will take place. Such evidence needs to go beyond mere assumptions that observed trends will continue or that certain undertakings will change their behaviour.

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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.