Keywords
competition law, concept of the control, decisive influence, one economic unit, parent company, single economic entity, subsidiary, undertaking
Abstract
The article explores the problems related to the determination of a single economic unit under competition law. The first part of the article addresses the concept of a single economic entity. It is presumed that companies belonging to a group are separate undertakings, but under certain circumstances the group might constitute a single economic entity. The second part refers to the analysis of the concept of ‘control’, which is the main criterion describing the relationship inside a group of companies. The third part refers to the analysis of the cases when de jure separate undertakings are recognized as a single economic entity. When a company exercises decisive influence over another company, they form a single economic entity and, hence, are part of the same undertaking. Decisive influence is the most important criterion for recognizing that de jure separate undertakings constitute a single economic unit. Finally, the fourth part refers to problems concerning the presumption of the decisive influence. It is presumed that a parent company exercises a decisive influence over a subsidiary where it holds 100 percent of capital. Thus, separate companies are recognized as a single economic unit, if 100 percent of a company’s capital is owned by the controlling entity.
Recommended Citation
Moisejevas, R., & Urbonas, D. (2017). Problems Related to Determining of a Single Economic Entity under Competition Law. Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies, 10(16), 107-126. https://doi.org/10.7172/1689-9024.YARS.2017.10.16.5
First Page
107
Last Page
126
Page Count
19
DOI
10.7172/1689-9024.YARS.2017.10.16.5
Publisher
University of Warsaw
Publication Date
2017-12-31
