Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title

Section 1 U.K. Entities

Article 2 U.K. Contracting entities

1. For the purposes of this Directive,

(a) ‘Contracting authorities’are State, regional or local authorities, bodies governed by public law, associations formed by one or several such authorities or one or several of such bodies governed by public law.

‘A body governed by public law’ means any body:

• (a) established for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character,

• having legal personality and

• financed, for the most part, by the State, regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public law; or subject to management supervision by those bodies; or having an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law;

(b) a ‘public undertaking’is any undertaking over which the contracting authorities may exercise directly or indirectly a dominant influence by virtue of their ownership of it, their financial participation therein, or the rules which govern it.

A dominant influence on the part of the contracting authorities shall be presumed when these authorities, directly or indirectly, in relation to an undertaking:

• (b) hold the majority of the undertaking's subscribed capital, or

• control the majority of the votes attaching to shares issued by the undertaking, or

• can appoint more than half of the undertaking's administrative, management or supervisory body.

2. This Directive shall apply to contracting entities:

(a) which are contracting authorities or public undertakings and which pursue one of the activities referred to in Articles 3 to 7;

(b) which, when they are not contracting authorities or public undertakings, have as one of their activities any of the activities referred to in Articles 3 to 7, or any combination thereof and operate on the basis of special or exclusive rights granted by a competent authority of a Member State.

3. For the purposes of this Directive, ‘special or exclusive rights’ mean rights granted by a competent authority of a Member State by way of any legislative, regulatory or administrative provision the effect of which is to limit the exercise of activities defined in Articles 3 to 7 to one or more entities, and which substantially affects the ability of other entities to carry out such activity.