European Commission prepares law against Chinese companies
The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung writes that the European Commission is preparing proposals that should protect European companies from unfair competition from China, and cites the Peljesac Bridge, which is being built by Chinese companies with EU funds, as one of the examples,.
The European Commission on Wednesday presented a legislative project aimed at enabling a ban on EU companies to take over state-subsidized companies from third countries. In addition, companies supported by state money should also be excluded from tenders for public contracts.
In Germany, Chinese takeovers of European companies are especially controversial. For example, the multi-billion-dollar takeover of the German company Cook, one of the leading manufacturers of robots for the industry, provoked a lot of criticism. The buyer was Chinese Midea.
In the area of public contracts, the fact that a Chinese consortium has been awarded a contract to build an important bridge in southern Croatia (the Peljesac Bridge) has sparked debate. A number of large European companies missed the tender and then complained of unfair competition.
The Commission's proposal specifically stipulates that before the big takeover, foreign companies must disclose in the future whether they have received state subsidies of more than EUR 50 million in recent years. This would then apply to all takeovers of companies with a turnover of EUR 500 million or more.
When applying for public contracts, state subsidies with a contract of EUR 250 million or more should be announced in the future. In addition, the EC competition authorities want to be able to investigate takeovers and award contracts below the thresholds on their own initiative.
Whether the proposal will be implemented in the same way now depends on the governments of the EU member states and the European Parliament. The law will be discussed in the coming months, and then they will have to decide on its adoption.
Source: Index portal, Süddeutsche Zeitung and Blic.
