Thirteen associations representing mainly third country companies have issued a joint statement expressing their concerns about the implementation of the foreign subsidy regulation on Tuesday 4 April. The European Commission is due to publish an implementing regulation in the second quarter specifying, among other things, the information that needs to be included in the notification forms that companies will have to provide.
In any case, the implementing regulation “will [...] create a disproportionate [administrative] burden for EU and non-EU businesses with a global presence”, according to the signatories of the statement.
They state, for example, that in order to comply with the regulation, companies will have to put in place internal compliance mechanisms that do not currently exist.
They are therefore making four requests to the European Commission. Firstly, it should consider narrowing the scope of information requirements “to focus on financial contributions that are most likely to distort competition”, explained Kaarli Eichhorn, Vice-President of the American Chamber of Commerce in the EU (AmCham, which is among the signatories of the declaration), to a number of journalists, including EUROPE.
In his opinion, and that of Martin Bresson, Director of Public Affairs at Invest Europe, the definition of “financial contribution” must also be clarified in order to provide visibility to companies.
Furthermore, companies should not be obliged to disclose classified information to the European Commission, according to the statement.
Finally, they are asking the European Commission to allow all relevant parties to provide information directly to the Commission, i.e. to ensure that subcontractors or suppliers can provide information about themselves directly, rather than through the company concerned by the notification.
See the joint statement: https://aeur.eu/f/677 (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)