Η European Commission today proposed to give it more powers to block the award or access to a public contract if a foreign company has received many subsidies, a regulation that aims, without naming it, to China.
This text is written in the context of a hardening of Europe's stance towards Beijing, its second largest trading partner after United States, with which he strives to maintain a diplomatic and economic balance.
On the one hand, the Germany wishes to maintain links with this privileged export destination, and on the other hand, some Member States are concerned about unfair competition from Chinese companies heavily subsidized by the communist regime.
The tension between the two blocs is also political: the EU has imposed sanctions against China, which it accuses of human rights violations in the Xinjiang region. It responded by imposing sanctions on MEPs, academics and the German think tank MERICS.
“The European Union is the most open market in the world. But this openness goes hand in hand with fairness,” the European Commission president said in a tweet, Ursula von der Leyen, which added that the purpose of the proposed measures is to ensure a level playing field.
The legislation presented today, which is now expected to be examined by Member States and the European Parliament, will allow the Commission to investigate foreign companies seeking to take over EU companies with an annual turnover of more than €500 million.
They will also be able to launch investigations against groups bidding for major public contracts in Europe, such as railways or telecoms, with a value of more than €250 million.
The Commission will also be able to launch investigations on its own initiative.
In the event of distortion of competition, the Brussels will be able to request corrective measures and even prohibit in certain cases the award of a public contract to the company in question.
Zero interest loans, preferential financial treatment or simply direct grants could be part of the aid that is considered to distort competition.
The proposal is not formally directed against any particular country, but European sources agree that concerns about China are at the heart of its drafting.
This text comes shortly after the surprise agreement reached between Brussels and Beijing at the end of December.
This agreement, reached after years of blockage, has not yet been ratified, but the Commission Vice-President, Valdis Dobrovskis, said yesterday, Tuesday, in French Agency, that the “efforts” of his services to do so have been “suspended”. “In the current situation (...) the environment is not favourable for the ratification of the agreement,” he said.
