What purpose does market definition serve in EC Competition Law analysis? Is it always necessary to define the relevant market when applying EC competition rules? How do the European Commission and Courts define the relevant market? Are there any criticis

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What purpose does market definition serve in EC Competition Law analysis? Is it always necessary to define the relevant market when applying EC competition rules? How do the European Commission and Courts define the relevant market? Are there any criticisms of the approach to market definition followed by them?

Market definition is extremely important for EC Competition law analysis in many aspects. First and foremost, market definition plays a vital role in enabling us to identify who our competitors are, and can help determine their market power. This would facilitate in indentifying the boundaries of competition, allowing one to know whether a firm has a dominant position, and further, whether they have abused that dominant position. We are also able to identify competitive constraints in a systematic way. It is important to recognise that the definition of the relevant market constitutes only a preliminary step in the assessment of situations, such as abuse of dominance or mergers for example.

The above are all of utmost importance, as a proper definition allows us to establish a framework for applying competition law, which the Commission explicitly mentions in Paragraph 2 of its Notice on market definition. This is especially useful