Foreign Subsidies Regulation
The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) establishes substantive and procedural rules to address distortive foreign subsidies in the EU internal market.
The FSR entered into force on 12 January 2023 and has applied since 12 July 2023, allowing the European Commission to initiate ex officio investigations. From 12 October 2023, notification obligations for concentrations (mergers and acquisitions) and public procurement above certain thresholds have been in effect.
The Commission implementing regulation
On 10 July 2023, the Commission adopted Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441 (see the press release) setting out
- procedures for notifying concentrations and public procurement bids
- rules for calculating time limits
- procedural rules on preliminary reviews and in-depth investigations in cases of suspected distortive foreign subsidies
Further information
On 12 July 2023, the Commission adopted a communication on transmitting documents to the Commission: pursuant to Articles 4(2), 8(1), 15, 17(2) and 25 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441 on detailed arrangements for the conduct of proceedings by the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market.
Clarifications on distortion and balancing
If an in-depth investigation finds that a foreign subsidy exists and is distortive, the Commission will balance the negative effects of market distortion against any positive effects of the subsidy. Based on this assessment, the Commission may impose redressive measures or accept commitments from the parties involved.
For further details, refer to the Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2024) 201 final (dated 26 July 2024), which provides initial clarifications on the application of Article 4(1), Article 6, and Article 27(1) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2560.
Legislative history of the foreign subsidy rules
White paper on foreign subsidies
On 17 June 2020, the Commission adopted a white paper on foreign subsidies, launching a public debate on their impact on the EU market.
Public consultation
Following the white paper, a 14-week public consultation took place, closing on 23 September 2020. The Commission received 150 contributions, including
- 17 from EU public authorities,
- 24 from non-EU stakeholders and governments,
- around 100 from business associations and individual companies,
- Contributions from law firms, academic institutions, trade unions, NGOs, and citizens
Consultation results
- Summary of the consultation results
- Contributions to the public consultation
- Documents annexed to contributions
Inception impact assessment
To lay the groundwork for regulatory action, the Commission published an inception impact assessment on 6 October 2020, open for feedback until 29 October 2020.
Targeted consultation
Between October 2020 and January 2021, the Commission gathered feedback from
- business and industry groups affected by foreign subsidies
- expert groups and public authorities,
- representatives of SMEs and consumers,
- non-EU stakeholders
Adoption by Council and Parliament
The final text of the regulation was adopted on 10 November 2022 by the Parliament and on 28 November 2022 by the Council.
Stakeholder feedback on the implementing regulation
On 6 February 2023, the Commission invited stakeholders to provide feedback on the FSR draft implementing regulation via the ‘Have Your Say' portal. The deadline for submissions was 6 March 2023.
Contact us
For questions on FSR in the context of public procurement procedures, emails can be sent to: grow-fsr-pp-notifications@ec.europa.eu