The EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation is now in force: what do companies need to know?

On 12 July 2023, Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market (the “Foreign Subsidies Regulation” or “FSR”) officially entered into force.

Through this new piece of legislation, the European Commission (“EC”) aims to “catch” under its radar, all financial contributions granted by non-EU countries that may result in distortive subsidies to the advantage of companies operating in the EU. Up to now, said financial measures fell outside the scope of application of EU Competition and State aid rules.

The EC thus decided to intervene, with a view to address this regulatory gap between EU and non-EU granted financial contributions.

The final goal of the EC is to ensure a level playing field among all companies operating within the EU perimeter, both those receiving EU subsidies (already subject to State aid control) and those receiving non-EU subsidies (now falling under the scope of the FSR).

Our experts wrote an alert which summarised the key aspects of the Regulation and its application.

Read the alert here