Merkitykselliset markkinat/EN
Defining the relevant market is the starting point for almost all competition law assessment — it determines who is regarded as a competitor and how much market power the parties to an arrangement actually hold.
- Mistä on kyse: The relevant market is defined in both its product market and geographic market dimensions, on the basis of demand-side and supply-side substitutability.
- Miksi sillä on kaupallista merkitystä: Market definition ultimately determines the market shares on which both merger assessment and suspicions of abuse are substantially based — a narrow market definition raises the market share, a broad one lowers it.
- Mikä menee useimmin pieleen: In digital and free (zero-price) markets, the traditional price-based SSNIP test does not work directly, and market definition must instead rely more heavily on qualitative factors.
Product Markets
[muokkaa]The relevant product market comprises all products and services which the consumer regards as interchangeable or substitutable with each other by reason of their characteristics, price and intended use. The central tool of the assessment is the so-called SSNIP test (Small but Significant Non-transitory Increase in Price): the question asked is whether a sufficiently large proportion of customers would switch to a substitute product if a hypothetical monopolist permanently raised the price by 5–10%.[1]
Geographic Markets
[muokkaa]The relevant geographic market covers the area in which the conditions of competition are sufficiently homogeneous and which can be distinguished from neighbouring areas because the conditions of competition are appreciably different there (e.g. transport costs, consumer preferences, the regulatory environment).[2] Depending on the case, markets may be local, national, EU-wide or global.
The Commission's Revised Notice (2024)
[muokkaa]On 8 February 2024, the European Commission issued a revised notice on the definition of the relevant market, replacing the notice dating from 1997.[3][4] Key changes include:
- The notice acknowledges that the traditional price-based SSNIP test does not work well in situations where undertakings compete on parameters other than price (e.g. quality, privacy, innovation) — a quality-based SSNDQ test (Small but Significant Non-transitory Decrease in Quality) is introduced as an alternative.[5]
- In markets for zero-price and multi-sided platforms, factors other than price — such as switching costs and interoperability — are given more weight.[6]
- The evidence base is broadened: alongside quantitative analysis, undertakings' own documents produced in the ordinary course of business and independent industry reports are now accepted more explicitly than before.[7]
Market definition should not be treated as a mere formality — a carefully reasoned market definition grounded in case-specific evidence is often the most effective way to influence the outcome of the whole matter, whether it concerns a merger or a suspicion of abuse.
See Also
[muokkaa]- Dominant Market Position
- Competition Law Assessment of Mergers and Remedies
- Fundamentals and Sources of Competition Law
Sources
[muokkaa]- ↑ Commission Notice on the definition of the relevant market for the purposes of Union competition law, EUR-Lex, CELEX 52024XC01645, paragraph 29.
- ↑ Judgment of the Court of Justice of 14 February 1978, United Brands Company v Commission ("Chiquita bananas"), Case 27/76, paragraph 11, EUR-Lex, CELEX 61976CJ0027.
- ↑ Commission Notice on the definition of the relevant market for the purposes of Union competition law, EUR-Lex, CELEX 52024XC01645 (Official Journal of the European Union C/2024/1645, 22.2.2024).
- ↑ Revised Market Definition Notice Gives European Commission Increased Flexibility in Competition Assessments, Gibson Dunn, 2024 (supplementary, secondary source).
- ↑ Commission Notice on the definition of the relevant market for the purposes of Union competition law, EUR-Lex, CELEX 52024XC01645, paragraph 30 (see also the accompanying footnote, which refers to Case AT.40099 – Google Android, on the application of the SSNDQ test).
- ↑ Commission Notice on the definition of the relevant market for the purposes of Union competition law, EUR-Lex, CELEX 52024XC01645, section 4.4 ("Market definition in the presence of multi-sided platforms").
- ↑ Commission Notice on the definition of the relevant market for the purposes of Union competition law, EUR-Lex, CELEX 52024XC01645, paragraphs 80 and 82.