This article analyses how certain entities and their activities fall within the ambit of Competition law due to their characterisation as 'undertakings'. First, it analyses the definition of an economic activity as the main criterion of what constitutes an 'undertaking'. Second, it examines certain categories of entities which pose problems in their characterisation as 'undertakings'. Further, it shows how the Court narrowed down an all-encompassing definition of an 'undertaking' by adding an element of autonomy to the element of economic activity in order to exclude certain individuals from the application of the competition rules; by incorporating the element of 'imperium' to exempt these public bodies whose activities flowed from the State's sovereignty; and recently, by introducing the principle of solidarity as the new criterion for excluding entities from the ambit of Competition law. Finally, this paper advocates that, in light of the decentralisation process, further guidance in clarifying the meaning of 'undertaking' is needed.
Legal Issues of Economic Integration