The Undertaking and Single Entity Doctrine in EU and UK Competition Law: Proposals for a Refined Approach

Stephen Daly and Alison Jones

Chapter 7 in Research Handbook on Competition and Corporate Law, 2025, pp 128-151 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The concept of an ‘undertaking’ determines the category of actors to which the competition rules apply. Case law establishes that the concept encompasses every entity engaged in economic activity. Further, it is not necessarily synonymous with natural or legal personality but denotes an ‘economic unit’, or single economic entity, which may be comprised of one or more persons, natural or legal. This chapter sets out the view that this approach to the notion of an undertaking creates a number of problems and inconsistencies which are difficult to resolve. It thus proposes a refined approach to the undertaking and economic entity concepts, guided by principles of UK company law. Although the seeds for such a solution exist in the EU jurisprudence, it would require a change of direction from that followed in recent cases. The approach could, however, be followed in the UK should the relevant authorities, and courts, so decide.

Keywords: Undertaking; Single Economic Entity; Economic Unit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781803920542
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