European Union: Adopted guidelines on application of EU competition law to collective agreements

On 29 September 2022, the European Commission adopted the Guidelines on the application of EU competition law to collective agreements regarding the working conditions of solo self-employed persons. The Guidelines are addressed to self-employed individuals with no employees and specify that they are considered undertakings under competition law. In particular, the Guidelines clarify that the prohibition of agreements between undertakings does not apply to collective agreements made by solo self-employed persons to negotiate working conditions. Specifically, the competition law is not applicable to self-employed individuals that provide their services to only one undertaking, work with employees or offer their services to a digital platform.