BRUSSELS — The European Commission has adopted new guidelines setting out how it will tackle dominant companies that use their market power to push competitors out,
in a move aimed at bringing EU competition enforcement in line with modern markets.
The guidelines, published after three years of consultation with businesses, national authorities and other stakeholders, provide a new framework for applying Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
The provision prohibits companies with a dominant position from abusing their market power in ways that can distort competition and affect trade within the EU.
The Commission said the new rules would help competition authorities distinguish between legitimate competition and conduct designed to exclude rivals.
Practices that can raise concerns include predatory pricing, margin squeezes, exclusive dealing arrangements and unjustified refusals to supply.
The Commission argues that exclusionary behaviour by dominant companies can prevent competitors from having a fair opportunity to compete, with potential consequences for innovation, consumer choice and market dynamics.
Focus on modern markets
The new guidelines are intended to provide companies with greater certainty about how Article 102 will be applied, while giving competition authorities a more consistent framework for enforcement.
They set out how dominance should be assessed, including in increasingly complex markets involving digital ecosystems and after-markets.
The guidelines also explain how authorities should determine whether a company's conduct represents competition on the merits or instead has exclusionary effects.
Importantly, the Commission said dominant companies may still be able to justify certain practices.
Companies can argue that conduct is objectively necessary or demonstrate that it generates efficiencies that outweigh its potential harmful effects and ultimately benefit consumers.
The approach reflects developments in European competition law as well as rulings by the EU Courts and the Commission's enforcement experience.
Three-year review
The process began in March 2023, when the Commission launched a call for evidence on the development of new guidelines.
A draft was subsequently put to public consultation in August 2024, while a stakeholder workshop was held in February 2025. The Commission also worked with EU member states and national competition authorities throughout the process.
Feedback gathered during the consultations was incorporated into the final guidelines, the Commission said.
The new framework is expected to provide a common reference point not only for the Commission but also for national competition authorities and courts when dealing with exclusionary abuses.
Old guidance withdrawn
The adoption of the new guidelines also marks the withdrawal of the Commission's 2008 guidance on enforcement priorities for abusive exclusionary conduct, which was issued under the predecessor provision of Article 102.
The 2008 guidance helped establish an effects-based approach to competition enforcement. The Commission said that approach has since been further developed through decisions of the EU Courts and is reflected in the new guidelines.
The Commission stressed that the new document deals specifically with exclusionary abuses.
It will continue to pursue cases involving exploitative abuses where appropriate and could issue separate guidance on such conduct at a later stage.
The latest move comes as competition authorities across Europe face increasingly complex markets, particularly where large companies operate across interconnected products, services and digital platforms.
The Commission said the new guidelines are intended to ensure that EU competition law remains capable of addressing those developments while allowing businesses to compete on the merits and ensuring consumers benefit from effective competition.