The European Commission has opened two investigations into Chinese solar panel manufacturers who are suspected of having benefited from irregular subsidies.
The investigation, announced this Wednesday, affects construction in Romania of a photovoltaic park with a power of 110 megawatts, financed in part with European funds.
The Commission fear that two chinese companies that participate in the construction of said plant are supported by irregular subsidies that would have allowed them to submit a better offer to the public tender and receive the assignment of the work.'
Two Chinese companies, in the crosshairs of the European Commission
One of the companies is LONGi Solar Technologie, a recently created subsidiary of LONGi Green Energy, a major solar energy module supplierbased in China. The second is a consortium controlled by Shanghai Electric Group, a state company that provides services in wind, solar and hydrogen energy.
The Commission describes Shanghai Electric Group as a company “subordinate to the Central People's Government of China.” The amount of the subsidies being investigated is not known. The Executive has 110 business days to make a decision final, which could lead to the withdrawal of the contract.
The law that allows Brussels act (Foreign Subsidies Regulation) applies to companies that receive at least 4 million euros in subsidies of a non-EU government and participate in public tenders whose value exceeds 250 million euros.
Presented for the first time in May 2021the regulation intends increase control over subsidies foreign aid, which until then was exempt from oversight by the Commission, unlike state aid injected by Member States, which requires approval.
They aim to guarantee fair competition in Europe
The bill aims ensure fair competition in the bloc of 27 countries without borders, put an end to market distortions and prevent foreign governments from taking over European brands. Last month, CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive, a Chinese state-owned company, withdrew from a tender to acquire 20 electric trains in Bulgaria after being the subject of such an investigation.
This Wednesday's decision is latest episode of a broader rethinking of the way the West consumes Chinese products. Brussels and Washington They are raising the alarm about Beijing's generous state subsidy system, which allows its companies to manufacture products aimed at the ecological transition at very low cost and on a large scale.
“The solar panels have acquired strategic importance for Europe: for our clean energy production, employment and security of supply,” said Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market.
“The two new in-depth investigations into foreign subsidies in the solar panel sector aim preserve economic security and the competitiveness of Europe by ensuring that companies in our single market are truly competitive and play fair.
The western allies They fear that, as demand for carbon-neutral technology continues to skyrocket, China conquers the entire market and eliminate remaining competition. The European solar industry has warned that it faces an “existential threat” and that, unless action is taken soon, it could collapse within months.
