§1.1 Purpose of this Notice

1. The Commission uses the concept of market definition in its enforcement of Union competition law, namely: (a) the enforcement of antitrust rules under Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’) pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 (1); (b) merger control pursuant to Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) (‘the Merger Regulation’). (c) the enforcement of equivalent provisions set out in the Agreement on the European Economic Area (3) (‘the EEA Agreement’). 2. The Commission generally defines the relevant market in those cases (4) where it is important to appraise the relative competitive strength of undertakings (5). 3. The purpose of this Notice is to provide guidance on how the Commission applies the concept of relevant market in its enforcement of Union competition law. Competition policy preserves well-functioning markets and addresses market failures, thereby contributing to the twin green and digital transitions and the resilience of the single market (6). It aims to ensure that markets remain competitive, open and dynamic. Accordingly, competition policy can contribute to preventing excessive dependency and increasing the resilience of the Union economy by enabling strong and diversified supply chains (7), and can complement the Union’s regulatory framework on environmental sustainability by taking into account sustainability factors to the extent relevant to the competition assessment, including as part of market definition. Against that background, the updated guidance provided in this Notice takes into account the significant developments of the past twenty years. These include digitalisation and new ways of offering goods and services, as well as the increasingly interconnected and globalised nature of commercial exchanges. 4. By publishing the methodology that it follows and by indicating the main criteria and evidence on which it relies when defining relevant markets, the Commission aims to increase the transparency of its policy and decision-making when applying Union competition law. The Commission also aims to reduce the burden on the resources of its own services and those of external stakeholders, making competition assessments more efficient. 5. Increasing the transparency and consequently the predictability of the Commission’s assessments under Union competition law will also increase legal certainty for undertakings and their advisers. They will be able to better assess the scope of the relevant markets and the likelihood that the Commission may identify competition concerns in a particular case. They will be able to take these factors into account in their internal decision-making when contemplating, for instance, acquiring other undertakings, creating joint ventures, concluding certain agreements, or engaging in certain behaviour unilaterally. The guidance provided in this Notice will also assist undertakings in anticipating the type of information the Commission considers relevant for the purposes of market definition.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07