EU Commission Adopts First-Ever Article 102 Exclusionary Abuse Guidelines
The Commission adopted Guidelines on Article 102 TFEU exclusionary abuses on 3 September 2026 — the first text of its kind, materially reshaping how dominance conduct is assessed for major clients and their challengers.
On 3 September 2026 the European Commission adopted Guidelines on the application of Article 102 TFEU to abusive exclusionary conduct by dominant undertakings — the first instrument of its kind to set out how the Commission assesses exclusionary abuses. Until now that analysis has been driven largely by case-by-case enforcement practice and the Commission's earlier 2009 guidance on Article 102 infringements, which addressed a narrower question about conduct by companies already in breach of the conditions of dominance.
Sophisticated counsel will want to know how the new Guidelines structure the analysis: which conduct is treated as capable of excluding a competitor, what evidentiary expectations attach to dominance and to the causal link between the conduct and competitive harm, and how efficient, objective or otherwise justified conduct is treated. Because the Guidelines should shape Commission investigations, commitments decisions and the defence of Article 102 cases before national courts, they will inform exposure assessment as well as pricing, distribution and platform strategy for dominant clients and their challengers.
Next to watch: publication in the Official Journal, any transition or grandfathering provisions, and the first enforcement decisions applying the new standards. The available source confirms adoption only; substantive content must be verified against the published text.