On 8 February 2024, the European Commission
('Commission') published the revised
Commission Notice on the definition of the relevant market for the
purposes of Union competition law ('Revised
Notice'). The Revised Notice provides a much-needed
revision to the 1997 version—more than 25 years later.
What is a relevant market?
The starting point for competition analyses carried out by the
Commission and national competition authorities, including
Malta's Office for Competition, is the definition of the
boundaries within which competition is taking place amongst
businesses. These boundaries constitute the relevant
market.
The identification of the relevant market is the cornerstone of
any analysis under EU competition law—be it merger control,
abuse of dominance and coordinated conduct. Products which are
deemed to be homogenous or substitutable by consumers, within a
specific geographic catchment area, are placed in one
'market'. If products fall within this
