BRUSSELS -
The EU Commission launches a shield against takeovers in Europe by companies that receive non-EU state aid
.
Companies that receive over 50 million euros in foreign grants and seek to take over EU assets for over 500 million euros or participate in tenders worth at least 250 million euros will have to notify the operation in Brussels and obtain its approval. .
This was announced by the
EU vice president, Margrethe Vestager
, presenting the new bill.
Transactions that fall within the thresholds established by the EU must be
notified in advance to the Antitrust
, which will open an investigation.
Pending the outcome of the review, the acquisitions cannot be completed and the contract cannot be awarded to the tenderer.
Companies that fail to comply with the notification obligation or EU antitrust rules, for example by carrying out the operation without having obtained the approval of Brussels, will be able to face
fines of up to 10% of turnover
.
In its bill, Brussels also proposes the introduction of a
general investigative tool to assess other situations
where there is a suspicion that a foreign subsidy could distort the internal market and distort competition, such as greenfield investments or mergers and procurement. below the notification thresholds. In these cases, the EU Antitrust will have the power to initiate ex officio investigations and request ad hoc notifications.
