Undertaking

Undertaking in the European Union Law

Concept of Undertaking provided by the “Glossary of terms used in EU competition policy” (Antitrust and control of concentrations, published in 2002): For the purpose of EU antitrust law, any entity engaged in an economic activity, that is, an activity consisting in offering goods or services on a given market, regardless of its legal status and the way in which it is financed, is considered an undertaking. To qualify, no intention to earn profits is required, nor are public bodies by defini-tion excluded. The rules governing concentrations speak of 'undertakings concerned', that is, the direct participants in a merger or in the acqui-sition of control.

(See for details: Commission notice on the concept of undertakings concerned (OJ C 66, 2.3.1998).)