§3.1 General approach to market definition in practice

45. In practice, the Commission is usually in a position to preliminarily identify the most plausible relevant product and geographic markets within which a particular conduct or concentration should be assessed. This can be based on readily available information, the relevant markets defined in past Commission decisions in the same or similar industries, or information submitted by the undertaking(s) involved. There will often be a limited number of such plausible alternative relevant markets. The Commission then adjusts its initial working hypotheses about the relevant product and geographic markets in the light of the evidence gathered during its investigation, if necessary. In many cases, a cursory examination of the plausible alternative market definitions is sufficient to structure and facilitate the competitive assessment in the Commission’s decision, without the need to carry out a detailed analysis to conclude on the definition of each relevant market. In its decisions, the Commission may set out and consider alternative market definitions, beginning with potential wider or narrower markets, depending on the specificities of the case. 46. The following Sections 3.2 and 3.3 describe various factors that may be relevant to define the relevant product and geographic markets. Section 3.4 describes how the Commission gathers and evaluates evidence of these different factors. This does not imply that in each individual case the Commission needs to obtain evidence on and assess all of the factors mentioned. In practice, evidence relating to a subset of these factors is often sufficient to enable the Commission to reach a conclusion on the relevant market.

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