The European Commission has published proposed changes to the Market Definition Notice considering the significant developments in the recent years, particularly as a response to the widespread digitalization. The main purpose of the draft revised Market Definition Notice is to minimize potential competitive concerns by providing businesses with more guidance, transparency and legal certainty.
The most notable change introduced by the draft is that it lays a higher focus on non-price factors of market definition, such as innovation and quality of products and services. In order to achieve this purpose, the draft introduces new guidance and principles to market definition of digital markets and innovation-intensive markets by explaining how the market should be assessed where companies compete on innovation. European Commission thinks that by relying more on qualitative techniques rather than quantitative techniques while gathering and evaluating evidence it is possible to correctly assess these markets. Moreover, the prerequisites for defining global markets have been modified as the European Commission believes that geographic markets are wider or likely to become so in the near future and accurate regulations may reduce barriers to global trade while keeping a competitive environment.
This is the first time the Market Definition Notice is being revised since it was first adopted in 1997 and, all in all, the draft notice shows that European Commission is ready to adapt its regulations to global and digital markets as the possible competitive concerns arisen in these markets also harm technological and innovative developments.
(European Commission – 08.11.2022)
NAZALI TAX & LEGAL