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| 8. | The Commission generally uses market definition where there is a need to assess the relative competitive strength of undertakings as part of the competitive assessment (13) and, most notably, to assess whether an undertaking holds market power (14). Market definition is thus an intermediate tool to structure and facilitate the competitive assessment in appropriate cases and is not a mandatory step in all assessments under Union competition law. When subsequently conducting the competitive assessment and analysing market power, the Commission carries out an overall assessment of all relevant constraints on the undertaking(s) involved in the relevant product and geographic markets, which may include an assessment of barriers to entry or expansion, the impact of scale economies (which may include those that may be drawn from out-of-market activities) or network effects, access to specific assets and inputs, as well as product differentiation (15). That assessment may also include sufficiently foreseeable changes in such constraints when the case calls for a forward-looking assessment. As an intermediate step in the overall assessment process, it is necessary for market definition to be up-to-date at the time of the relevant conduct or concentration and based on facts, as further explained in paragraph 14.

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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.