The European Commission has adopted a White Paper dealing with the distortive effects caused by foreign subsidies in the Single Market. The Commission now seeks views and input from all stakeholders on the options set out in the White Paper.
The public consultation, which will be open until September 23, 2020, will help the Commission to prepare for appropriate legislative proposals in this area.
Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy and responsible for the cluster Europe Fit for the Digital Age, said, “Europe’s economy is open and closely interlinked to the rest of the world. If this is to remain a strength, we must stay vigilant. That is why we need the right tools to ensure that foreign subsidies do not distort our market, just as we do with national subsidies. Today’s White Paper launches an important discussion on how to address effects caused by foreign subsidies. The Single Market is key to Europe’s prosperity and it only works well if there is a level playing field.”
Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, said, “With today’s White Paper we deliver a key element for our vision of Europe’s New Industrial Strategy based on competition, open markets and a strong Single Market. The level playing field in the Single market is at the heart of this initiative and will help our companies operate and compete globally and thus promote the EU’s open strategic autonomy. As part of our Single Market rule book we need to prevent foreign subsidies from distorting procurement procedures and ensure that firms benefit from fair access to public contracts.”
EU competition rules, trade defence instruments, and public procurement rules play an important role in ensuring fair conditions for companies in the Single Market.
Subsidies by Member States have always been subject to EU State Aid rules to avoid distortions. Subsidies granted by non-EU governments to companies in the EU appear to have an increasing negative impact on competition in the Single Market, but fall outside EU State aid control.
There is a growing number of instances in which foreign subsidies seem to have facilitated the acquisition of EU companies or distorted the investment decisions, market operations or pricing policies of their beneficiaries, or distorted bidding in public procurement, to the detriment of non-subsidised companies.
Full Content: Europa
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