EU Seeks to Rein in Competition From Foreign Rivals
BRUSSELS—The European Union unveiled plans on June 17 to fight unfair competition from foreign compa..
BRUSSELS—The European Union unveiled plans on June 17 to fight unfair competition from foreign companies backed by powerful non-EU trade rivals amid the Chinese regimes growing influence in the blocs single market.
With its project, the EUs executive arm intends to tackle what it calls the “distortive effects” of foreign subsidies facilitating takeovers of European businesses by companies that receive large amounts of public aid from non-EU governments. Competing with European businesses that labor under strict state aid rules, these companies can take advantage of the unfair support to invest massively and win public procurement tenders.
“Everyone is welcome here,” Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, told a press conference. “But its also true that when one comes to benefit from the internal market, to do business here, one has to respect our rules.”
Amid the economic recession triggered by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic, the Commissions plan could help protect from hostile takeovers the thousands of European business that have been severely hit by the crisis.
“Europes economy is open and closely interlinked to the rest of the world. If this is to remain a strength, we must stay vigilant,” said EU Commission vice-president Margrethe Vestager, who is also in charge of competition policy. “That is why we need the right tools to ensure that foreign subsidies do not distort our market, just as we do with national subsidies.”
The proposals came only days before a video EU-China summit next week. Although the commission did not explicitly target economic giants like the United States or China as it unveiled its plan, the EU last year branded the communist country a “systemic rival.”
“We are happy that the European Commission is finally taking this issue seriously. But China will not be impressed by a discussion paper. What we urgently need is legislative proposals to prevent outsiders from buying our strategic companies and know-how at a bargain price,” said EU lawmaker Manfred Weber, chairman of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyens center-right European Peoples Party.
China has become the EUs second-biggest trading partner behind the United States, while the EU is Chinas biggest trading partner. The pair trade on average over 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) a day.
“The EU is amongst the most open economies in the world, attracting high levels of investment from our trading partners. However, our openness is increasingly being challenged through foreign trade practices, including subsidies that distort the level playing field for companies in the EU,” said Phil Hogan, the commissioner for trade.
The Commission said its plan is open for public consultation until the end of September before legislRead More – Source
