EU Regulation on Distortive Foreign Subsidies Set for Adoption

On 30 June 2022, the EU institutions reached political agreement on a new regulation which will allow the European Commission to control non-EU government subsidies given to businesses active in the EU (the “Regulation”).

First announced in May 2021, the proposed Regulation is likely to be adopted later this year, to take effect by mid-2023.

The agreed text closely follows the Commission’s proposal, with the same broad scope of application and the same monetary thresholds for triggering the mandatory merger review regime.  In addition, it refines the thresholds for the public procurement review regime and provides further clarity on how to assess distortive foreign subsidies. 

This alert memo summarizes the key provisions of the new Regulation and updates our previous coverage of the proposal.  It also discusses some practical steps to help businesses prepare.