Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market

A financial contribution assessed in the context of an ex officio procedure in relation to a specific economic activity under Article 10 or Article 11 may be relevant to and assessed under this Regulation in relation to another economic activity.

Where a Member State considers that a foreign subsidy may exist and may distort the internal market, it shall transfer information thereon to the Commission. The Commission may on the basis of that information decide to start a preliminary review pursuant to Article 10, or request a notification pursuant to Article 21(5) or Article 29(8).

A natural or legal person or association may communicate to the Commission any information it may have about foreign subsidies that may distort the internal market. The Commission may on the basis of that information decide to start a preliminary review pursuant to Article 10, or request a notification pursuant to Article 21(5) or Article 29(8).

The Commission shall make accessible to Member States and the contracting authorities or contracting entities concerned, on a dedicated electronic database, the non-confidential versions of all decisions adopted under this Regulation.

Where the information available to the Commission substantiates a reasonable suspicion that foreign subsidies in a particular sector, for a particular type of economic activity or based on a particular subsidy instrument may distort the internal market, the Commission may conduct a market investigation into the particular sector, the particular type of economic activity or into the use of the subsidy instrument concerned. In the course of that market investigation, the Commission may require the undertakings or associations of undertakings concerned to supply the necessary information and may carry out the necessary inspections. The Commission may also request Member States or the third country concerned to supply information.

The Commission shall, where relevant, publish a report on the results of its market investigation into particular sectors, particular types of economic activity or particular subsidy instruments and seek comments.

The Commission may use the information obtained from such market investigations in the framework of procedures under this Regulation.

Articles 13, 14, 15 and 17 shall apply to market investigations.

Where, following a market investigation pursuant to Article 36, the Commission suspects the existence of repeated foreign subsidies distorting the internal market, or where several enforcement actions under this Regulation identify foreign subsidies distorting the internal market granted by the same third country, the Commission may engage in a dialogue with the third country concerned, to explore options aimed at obtaining the cessation or modification of such subsidies with a view to eliminating their distortive effects on the internal market. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament and the Council of any relevant developments.

That third-country dialogue shall not prevent the Commission from taking action under this Regulation. Individual measures adopted pursuant to this Regulation shall not be addressed within that dialogue.

The powers of the Commission under Articles 10 and 11 shall be subject to a limitation period of 10 years, starting on the day on which a foreign subsidy is granted to an undertaking. Any action taken by the Commission under Article 10, 13, 14 or 15 with respect to a foreign subsidy shall interrupt the limitation period. After each interruption, the limitation period of 10 years shall start to run afresh.

The powers of the Commission to impose fines or periodic penalty payments under Articles 17, 26 and 33 shall be subject to a limitation period of three years, starting on the day on which the infringement referred to in Article 17, 26 or 33 took place. In the case of continuing or repeated infringements, the limitation period shall start on the day on which the infringement ceases. Any action taken by the Commission with respect to an infringement referred to in Articles 17, 26 or 33 shall interrupt the limitation period for the imposition of fines or periodic penalty payments. After each interruption, the limitation period of three years shall start to run afresh.

The powers of the Commission to enforce decisions imposing fines or periodic penalty payments under Articles 17, 26 and 33 shall be subject to a limitation period of five years, starting on the day on which the Commission decision imposing fines or periodic penalty payments is taken. Any action taken by the Commission, or by a Member State acting upon request of the Commission, intended to enforce payment of the fine or periodic penalty payment shall interrupt that limitation period. After each interruption, the limitation period of five years shall start to run afresh.

The limitation period shall expire at the latest on the day on which twice the amount of time of that limitation period has elapsed provided that the Commission has not:

The limitation period shall be suspended for as long as the decision of the Commission is the subject of proceedings pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

An undertaking shall not arrange financial operations or contracts to circumvent the notification requirements laid down in Article 21(1) and (5) and Article 29(1), (5) and (8).

Where the Commission suspects that an undertaking has engaged or is engaging in a practice referred to in paragraph 1, it may require that undertaking to provide any information that the Commission deems necessary to determine whether the undertaking has engaged in or is engaging in the practices referred to in paragraph 1, and may initiate a review pursuant to Article 21(4), or Article 30(4).

The Commission shall make public a summary notice of the decisions adopted pursuant to Article 10(3), point (a), allowing any natural or legal person, Member States or the third country that granted the foreign subsidy, to express their views.

The Commission shall publish the decisions adopted pursuant to Article 11(2), (3) and (4), Article 25(3) and (6), and Article 31(1), (2) and (3) in the Official Journal of the European Union.

When making public summary notices and decisions, the Commission shall take due account of the legitimate interests of undertakings in the protection of their business secrets and other confidential information.

The Commission shall notify a decision addressed to an undertaking or to an association of undertakings without delay and shall give that undertaking or association of undertakings the opportunity to indicate to the Commission which information in the decision it considers to be confidential.

The Commission shall inform the contracting authority or contracting entity concerned about a decision adopted pursuant to Article 31(1) and (3) addressed to an economic operator participating in a public procurement procedure.

Decisions adopted pursuant to Article 29(4) and Article 31(2) shall be addressed to the contracting authority or contracting entity concerned. The Commission shall provide the economic operator to which the award of the contract is prohibited with a copy of that decision.

The Commission shall, before adopting a decision pursuant to Articles 11, 12, 17, 18, 25(3), 26, 31 or 33 give the undertaking under investigation the opportunity to submit observations on the grounds on which the Commission intends to adopt its decision.

By way of derogation from paragraph 1, a decision pursuant to Article 12 may be taken provisionally, without the undertaking under investigation being given the opportunity to submit its observations beforehand, provided that the Commission gives it that opportunity as soon as possible after having taken its decision.

The Commission shall base its decision only on grounds on which the undertakings concerned have been given the opportunity to submit their observations.

In order to be able to exercise its right pursuant to paragraph 1, the undertaking under investigation shall be entitled to have access to the file of the Commission. The right of access to the file shall not extend to confidential information or internal documents of the Commission or the Member States or, in particular, to correspondence between the Commission and the Member States.

Information acquired under this Regulation shall be used only for the purposes for which it was acquired, unless the provider of the information agrees otherwise.

Member States and the Commission, their officials and other persons working under their supervision shall ensure the protection of confidential information acquired in application of this Regulation in accordance with the relevant applicable rules. To that end, they shall not disclose information covered by the obligation of professional secrecy that they have acquired pursuant to this Regulation.

Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not prevent the publication of statistics and reports which do not contain information allowing the identification of specific undertakings or associations of undertakings.

The disclosure of any information communicated under this Regulation shall not prejudice the essential security interests of Member States.

This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Articles 101, 102, 106, 107 and 108 TFEU, Council Regulation (EC) No 1/2003 ([^E0004]) and of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.

This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0005]).

This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/452.

This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Regulation (EU) 2022/1031 of the European Parliament and of the Council ([^E0006]).

This Regulation takes precedence over Regulation (EU) 2016/1035 until that Regulation becomes applicable pursuant to its Article 18. Where, after that date, a foreign subsidy falls within the scope of application of both Regulation (EU) 2016/1035 and this Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/1035 takes precedence. However, the provisions applicable to public procurement and concentrations of this Regulation take precedence over Regulation (EU) 2016/1035.

This Regulation takes precedence over Regulation (EEC) No 4057/86.

This Regulation is without prejudice to the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/712. Concentrations, as defined in Article 20 of this Regulation, involving air carriers shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 3 of this Regulation. Public procurement procedures involving air carriers shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 4 of this Regulation.

This Regulation shall be interpreted consistently with Directives 2009/81/EC, 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU and 2014/25/EU, and Council Directives 89/665/EEC ([^E0007]) and 92/13/EEC ([^E0008]).

This Regulation shall not prevent the Union from exercising its rights or fulfilling its obligations under international agreements. An investigation pursuant to this Regulation shall not be carried out and measures shall not be imposed or maintained where such investigation or measures would be contrary to the Union’s obligations emanating from any relevant international agreement it has entered into. In particular, no action shall be taken under this Regulation which would amount to a specific action against a subsidy within the meaning of Article 32.1 of the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and granted by a third country which is a member of the World Trade Organisation.

The Commission shall publish, at the latest on 13 January 2026, and shall regularly update thereafter, guidelines regarding:

Before issuing the guidelines referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall conduct appropriate consultations with stakeholders and Member States. The guidelines shall be built on experience gained in the course of implementing and enforcing this Regulation.

The Commission is empowered to adopt implementing acts concerning:

Implementing acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall be adopted in accordance with the advisory procedure referred to in Article 48(2).

Before the adoption of any measures pursuant to paragraph 1, the Commission shall make public a draft thereof and seek comments within the time limit. That time limit shall be set by the Commission and be no less than four weeks.

The first implementing acts referred to in paragraph 1 shall be adopted by 13 July 2023.

The Commission shall be assisted by a committee. That committee shall be a committee within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011.

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 shall apply.

The Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 50 for the purposes of amending, where necessary, the threshold for notifications of concentrations as set out in Article 20(3), point (a), by increasing the threshold by up to 20 % or decreasing the threshold by up to 20 %, after having:

For the purposes of evaluating the necessity of amending the threshold for notifications, pursuant to paragraph 1, the Commission shall conduct its assessment, covering a defined period of time which cannot be shorter than two years, in particular on the basis of the following objective criteria:

In order to raise the thresholds in Article 20(3), point (a), the assessment referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall demonstrate that:

In order to decrease the thresholds in Article 20(3), point (a), the assessment referred in paragraph 2 of this Article shall demonstrate that:

The Commission is empowered to adopt a delegated act in accordance with Article 50 for the purposes of amending, where necessary, the thresholds for notifications as set out in Articles 28(1), point (a), and 28(2) for public procurement by increasing by up to 20 % or decreasing by up to 20 %, after having:

For the purposes of evaluating the necessity of amending the threshold for notifications, pursuant to paragraph 5, the Commission shall conduct its assessment, covering a defined period of time which cannot be shorter than two years, in particular on the basis of the following objective criteria:

In order to increase the thresholds for notifications, the assessment referred to in paragraph 6 shall demonstrate that:

In order to decrease the thresholds, the assessment referred to in paragraph 6 shall demonstrate that:

The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 50 for the purposes of reducing the timelines for preliminary review and in-depth investigations as set out in Article 25(2) and (4) for notified concentrations and in Article 30(2), (5) and (6) for notified financial contributions in public procurement procedures. The Commission may adopt such delegated acts to reduce the timelines in Article 25(2) and (4) and Article 30(2), (5) and (6) where its practice in the application of this Regulation demonstrates that the Commission’s assessment can be performed within a shorter period of time.

The power to adopt delegated acts is conferred on the Commission subject to the conditions laid down in this Article.

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Articles 49(1) and (5) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 13 January 2025.

The power to adopt delegated acts referred to in Article 49(9) shall be conferred on the Commission for a period of five years from 13 January 2025. The Commission shall draw up a report in respect of the delegation of power not later than nine months before the end of the five-year period. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than three months before the end of each period.

The delegation of power referred to in Article 49(1), (5) and (9) may be revoked at any time by the European Parliament or by the Council. A decision to revoke shall put an end to the delegation of the power specified in that decision. It shall take effect on the day following the publication of the decision in the Official Journal of the European Union or at a later date specified therein. It shall not affect the validity of any delegated acts already in force.

Before adopting a delegated act, the Commission shall consult experts designated by each Member State in accordance with the principles laid down in the Interinstitutional Agreement of 13 April 2016 on Better Law-Making.

As soon as it adopts a delegated act, the Commission shall notify it simultaneously to the European Parliament and to the Council.

A delegated act adopted pursuant to Article 49(1) (5) and (9) shall enter into force only if no objection has been expressed either by the European Parliament or by the Council within a period of two months of notification of that act to the European Parliament and the Council or if, before the expiry of that period, the European Parliament and the Council have both informed the Commission that they will not object. That period shall be extended by two months at the initiative of the European Parliament or of the Council.

The Commission shall present an annual report on the application and implementation of this Regulation to the European Parliament and to the Council.

By 14 July 2026 and every three years thereafter, the Commission shall review its practice of implementing and enforcing this Regulation, in particular with regard to the application of Articles 4, 5, 6 and 9, and the notification thresholds set out in Article 20(3), Article 28(1) and (2), and present a report to the European Parliament and the Council, accompanied, where the Commission considers it appropriate, by relevant legislative proposals. In the context of its review, the Commission shall report on developments in international relations regarding third countries’ subsidy control systems.

Where the Commission considers it appropriate to combine the report with relevant legislative proposals, such proposals may include:

This Regulation shall apply to foreign subsidies granted in the five years prior to 13 July 2023 where such foreign subsidies distort the internal market after 13 July 2023.

By way of derogation to paragraph 1, this Regulation shall apply to foreign financial contributions granted in the three years prior to 13 July 2023 where such foreign financial contributions were granted to an undertaking notifying a concentration or notifying financial contributions in the context of a public procurement procedure pursuant to this Regulation.

This Regulation shall not apply to concentrations for which the agreement was concluded, the public bid was announced, or a controlling interest was acquired before 13 July 2023.

This Regulation shall not apply to public procurement contracts that have been awarded or procedures initiated before 13 July 2023.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 13 July 2023.

By way of derogation from paragraph 2 of this Article, Articles 47 and 48 shall apply from 12 January 2023 and Article 14(5), (6) and (7) shall apply from 13 January 2024.

By way of derogation from paragraph 2 of this Article, Articles 21 and 29 shall apply from 13 October 2023.