The European Union needs strict competition rules in the face of growing competition from China, German Minister of the Economy Peter Altmaier said in Berlin on Monday 7 September.
During a conference on European competition policy under the auspices of the German EU Council Presidency, Mr Altmaier said: "We need a fair competition framework... with companies that are supported by third countries and are therefore not subject to EU State aid rules”.
In June, the European Commission published a white paper on foreign subsidies to control the effect of Chinese financing on the Single market (see EUROPE 12508/1).
Altmaier had previously warned of a “sell-off” of German business interests, after a number of takeovers by Chinese technology investors. He also promised to support the German steel industry.
Margrethe Vestager, executive vice-president responsible for competition policy, noted “huge differences” in the extent of support that EU countries are able to provide in response to the pandemic. “It’s in our common interest to avoid an asymmetric recovery and risk even greater divergence within the Single Market”, she said.
Link to Mrs Vestager’s speech: https://bit.ly/3heqp96 (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)