On Tuesday 23 April, the European Commission announced that it was carrying out surprise inspections at the premises of a company involved in the production and sale of security equipment, which it suspects of having received unfair foreign subsidies. This action is part of the regulation against foreign subsidies liable to distort competition.
The Commission does not wish to disclose the name of the company or any other details at this stage.
According to our information, this is an ex officio procedure, i.e. not based on a notification received by the company itself, but on alerts that may come from various sources, pointing to a potential case of distortion of competition.
This type of inspection can be carried out by the Commission services without an in-depth investigation. This is a preliminary step in cases where the Commission has information that the company may fall within the scope of the Regulation.
The results of this inspection and other data will lead, or not, to the opening of an in-depth investigation. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)