The European Commission has initiated a public consultation on Friday 3 April, kicking off the review of its relevant market notice. All stakeholders are invited to make their views known, over the course of a six-week period concluding on 15 May 2020.

The Notice on the definition of relevant market dates from 1997 and provides guidance as to the Commission’s application of the concept of relevant product and geographic market definition in its antitrust and merger control enforcement. The concept seeks to define the boundaries of competition between firms and to identify the actual or potential competitors of the undertakings involved, and precedes the Commission’s full competition case-analysis.

With the review, the Commission aims to gather evidence to assess whether the Notice is still accurate and up to date, taking into account the developments in decisional practice and case law since its adoption more than 20 years ago. It will also consider the latest economic thinking, as well as international practices and academic research on the topic. The public consultation is an essential part of that review. The roadmap outlining the review process can be found here.