The Commission published guidelines on the assessment of abuse of a dominant position

The European Commission has published guidelines on Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), which prohibits the abuse of a dominant position. They replace the Commission’s Guidance on enforcement priorities. The guidelines are based on the case‑law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the Commission’s own decisional practice.

With the guidelines, the Commission seeks to enhance legal certainty and to support undertakings’ self‑assessment of whether their conduct constitutes an exclusionary abuse.

The guidelines set out, among other things, both general principles applicable to the assessment of abuse of a dominant position and specific assessment criteria for certain types of conduct. They also contain extensive guidance on possible objective justifications.

The guidelines are binding only on the Commission, but they may also guide national courts and the national competition authorities of the Member States in the application of Article 102 TFEU. The prohibition on abuse of a dominant position in the Finnish Competition Act (No 948/2011) is already interpreted in accordance with Article 102