Mirror, Mirror On The Wall

To paraphrase the Evil Queen: "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most dominant of them all?" For companies wondering whether Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) may apply to them – and, if so, how their commercial conduct will be assessed – the European Commission's new Guidelines offer a timely mirror. They provide a framework against which businesses can reflect on their market position, their conduct and the evidence that may matter if that conduct comes under scrutiny.

On September 3, 2026, the European Commission adopted its long-awaited Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance under Article 102 TFEU. The Guidelines consolidate a substantial body of EU case law and Commission enforcement practice into a single framework and replace the 2009 Enforcement Priorities Guidance. The Guidelines provide companies with a useful roadmap for assessing and substantiating the absence of dominance where their market position comes under