The European Commission said it has opened two anti-subsidy investigations against consortia of solar energy companies involving subsidiaries of Chinese groups, including Longi, a giant in the sector, AFP reported.
The investigations against two separate consortia were launched under new rules, which came into force last July, to prevent subsidies from third countries suspected of creating unfair competition in the EU in the context of calls for tenders.
The European executive states that it "will assess whether the companies in question have in fact obtained an undue advantage in winning EU public contracts".
The first consortium targeted by the probe includes the Romanian group Enevo and a German-based subsidiary of the Chinese giant Longi, a major global producer of photovoltaic cells.
The second consortium targeted by the Brussels pressure involves two subsidiaries wholly controlled by the same Chinese state-owned group, Shanghai Electric, which is under the strict supervision of the central government.
The investigations follow bids by these two consortia for the design, construction and operation of a photovoltaic park in Romania with an installed capacity of 110 MW, partly financed with European funds.
New European regulations require companies to notify Brussels if they participate in EU public contracts "with an estimated value of more than €250 million" and if they have received "at least €4 million in foreign financial subsidies in the previous three years".
"After a preliminary examination of the bids, the Commission considered it justified to open in-depth investigations as there is sufficient evidence that both (consortia) have benefited from foreign subsidies that distort internal market conditions" to the detriment of the other bidding companies, Brussels stressed.
The Commission, which has four months to decide, can either give the green light, ban the companies in question from participating in the Romanian tender, or accept the remedies proposed by the groups.
"The opening of a thorough investigation does not prejudge its outcome," the European executive insists.
In mid-February, Brussels had already opened an investigation into a subsidiary of Chinese railway manufacturer CRRC, a world leader in the sector, which participated in a tender for the supply and maintenance of electric trains in Bulgaria.
This was the first investigation launched under the new anti-subsidy rules. At the end of March, the state-owned CRRC group finally withdrew from the tender. / BGNES
