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Introduction

Market definition is the traditional starting point for most analysis under Competition law. It provides an objective conceptual framework for systematically identifying competitors (or potential competitors) that may constrain a company’s behaviour. The Commission refers to these as ‘effective and immediate competitive constraints’.

Competition authorities use market definition in several contexts, especially for merger control, the assessment of anti-competitive agreements, and abuse of dominance cases.

1. •

   Merger control—competition authorities assess the effects of the proposed merger. To that end, the Commission and the CMA identify the markets in which the merging parties are active, and the competitive constraint that the merged entity would face in such markets

2. •

   Anti-competitive agreements—when competition authorities suspect an anti-competitive agreement between suppliers or purchasers, they usually assess whether the agreement had anti-competitive effects. This requires defining the markets that may have been affected by the agreement

3. •

   Abuse of dominance cases—competition authorities assess whether the investigated company has significant