The single economic entity concept was developed by the ECJ through an extensive and functional interpretation of the notion of undertaking, which is the core of the EU competition law provisions as it defines the addressees of EU competition law. In accordance with the interpretation of the ECJ the notion of undertaking encompasses any entity engaged in economic activity, regardless of its legal status or its form. Thus, the undertaking is not necessarily a synonymous with legal or natural personality, and what is more, it can encompass several otherwise separated legal entities that form a so-called economic unit.
The single economic unit doctrine that was at the beginning only used as a shield is today an important mechanism, which facilitates imposing liability for violations of EU competition law. To determine whether a parent company and its subsidiary form an economic unit the European Commission has to establish that the parent company had a decisive influence over the conduct of its subsidiary and that it actually exercised it. However, due to difficulties in proving such a control of the parent company over its subsidiaries the ECJ designated several presumptions. These presumptions make it on the one hand significantly easier for the European Commission to impute liability to a parent company, yet on the other hand they conflict with some fundamental rights and legal principles.
Public enforcement of EU competition law has historically been a preferred method for punishing and deterring from anticompetitive actions. However, private enforcement of EU competition law through legal actions has been increasing lately. In this connection an important question arises – is the concept of single economic entity only applicable in public enforcement of competition law, or could it be applied in civil actions proceedings before national courts as well.
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