FENIN therefore brought a complaint before the Commission alleging that the SNS bodies
were abusing their dominant position. However, on the view that the bodies running
the SNS were not acting as undertakings, the Commission rejected that complaint. FENIN
then brought an action before the Court of First Instance challenging the Commission's
decision.
The Court began by pointing out that an undertaking, for the purposes of
Community competition law, includes any body or organisation which carries on an economic
activity, irrespective of its legal nature and the manner in which it is
financed. It is the business of offering goods or services in a particular
market, rather than the simple fact of making purchases, which characterises an activity
as an economic activity. Thus, it is the nature of the use to
which the goods purchased are subsequently put, that is to say, whether or
not the use is part of an economic activity, which determines whether or
not a purchase is made as part of an economic activity. Consequently, when
a body or organisation purchases goods or equipment for use in an activity
which is not economic in nature for example one which is purely social,
it is not acting as an undertaking, even if it wields considerable economic
power.
The Court further observed that bodies whose function is purely social, which are
founded on the principle of solidarity and which have no profit motive are
not undertakings.
In the present case, the Court found that the SNS in Spain operated
according to the principle of solidarity in that it was financed by social
security contributions and offered free services to its members, the general public.
On those two grounds, the SNS bodies could not be regarded as undertakings
for the purposes of Community competition law, neither in so far as they
managed the SNS, nor in so far as they purchased goods or services
in that connection.
The Court thus found it unnecessary to consider the arguments put forward by
FENIN concerning the alleged abuse of a dominant position, and dismissed the action.
Available in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian and Spanish For the full text of the judgment, please consult our Internet page www.curia.eu.int at approximately 3 p.m. today. For additional information please contact Chris Fretwell phone: (00 352) 4303 3355 fax: (00 352) 4303 2731 |