# Wrestling the Two-Headed Hydra: On the Consequences of the Bifurcated Concept of “Undertaking” in EU Competition Law

## TL;DR

This paper examines how EU competition law treats public healthcare differently, potentially causing unfair competition issues.

## Contribution

The paper highlights the normative issues arising from a dual concept of economic activity in EU competition law.

## Key findings

- The CJEU's sector-specific interpretation of economic activity in public healthcare lacks a clear legal basis.
- Excluding public healthcare activities from competition law can distort competition, especially in mixed healthcare systems.
- This conceptual dualism challenges the integrity of services of general economic interest under EU law.

## Abstract

The evolution of the CJEU’s jurisprudence has led to the emergence of a distinct, sector-specific notion of economic activity in the context of services delivered within public healthcare systems. This interpretation diverges markedly from the general framework applied in other sectors. This form of conceptual dualism lacks a clear normative foundation in the provisions of the TFEU and poses a potential challenge to the integrity of the role assigned to services of general economic interest under both the Treaty and established CJEU case law. Significantly, the exclusion of practically all activities within public healthcare systems from the ambit of EU competition law has the potential to generate significant distortions of competition. This is particularly relevant in the context of healthcare systems, such as that of Poland, which exhibit a mixed structure and where public and private providers engage in substantial competition.