The European Commission launched, on Wednesday 3 April, two new in-depth investigations under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. They target two consortia that took part in a call for tenders to design, build and make operational a 110 MW photovoltaic park in Romania. The project is also partly financed by the EU’s Modernisation Fund.
The first consortium involved is the ENEVO group, based in Romania, and LONGi Solar Technologie, the German subsidiary of the Chinese photovoltaic manufacturer LONGi Green Energy Technology.
The second consortium is made up of two subsidiaries belonging to the Chinese state-owned company Shanghai Electric Group.
The two consortia notified the European Commission of their participation in the Romanian call for tenders, as they met the criteria of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. This requires companies taking part in a public contract worth more than €250 million and which have received a foreign financial contribution of at least €4 million to notify the Commission (see EUROPE 13219/5).
According to the European Commission, there are sufficient indications that the two consortia have received foreign subsidies likely to distort competition on the internal market. This is why it is launching an in-depth investigation. It now has 110 days, from 4 March, to reach a decision. At the end of the investigation, the Commission could go so far as to prohibit this company from being awarded the public contract.
An initial investigation was opened in February against a Chinese company wanting to participate in a Bulgarian public contract for the supply of electric trains (see EUROPE 13352/4). However, the company withdrew from the tender during the investigation, leading to its closure (see EUROPE 13380/21). (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)