The Autorité de la concurrence welcomes the European Commission’s adoption of a revised version of its Notice on the definition of the relevant market (Market Definition Notice)
This update, in which the Autorité was involved, provides greater guidance and transparency for undertakings while ensuring that changes in the economy, such as the development of digital markets, are better taken into account.
Market definition is an important first step in the review of mergers and many antitrust cases. It enables competition authorities to identify and define the perimeter within which competition between companies takes place.
The European Commission’s Market Definition Notice aims to clarify its methodology for defining the market under EU competition law. The revised Notice is the first update of the text since its adoption in 1997. It provides greater transparency and predictability for undertakings and takes better account of changes in the economy, at the forefront of which is the development of digital markets.
The revised Notice is the culmination of an in-depth review process begun in April 2020. It is based on close cooperation between the European Commission and the national competition authorities within the European Competition Network (ECN) and on a public consultation that enabled many stakeholders to submit their observations.