Chinese language companies exit Romania photo voltaic tender after EU probe
by AFP Employees Writers
Brussels, Belgium (AFP) Might 13, 2024
Two Chinese language-owned photo voltaic panel producers have withdrawn from a public procurement tender in Romania after the EU launched a international subsidies probe, Brussels stated Monday.
Brussels is each looking for to ramp up Europe’s renewable vitality to scale back greenhouse gasoline emissions, whereas concurrently transferring away from extreme reliance on cheaper Chinese language wind and photo voltaic know-how.
Extra broadly, the EU desires to defend European trade in opposition to rising threats from China and america, and has launched a number of probes into Chinese language companies over state subsidies.
The European Fee began an investigation in April into two consortiums suspected of receiving subsidies that Brussels feared undercut rivals in Europe.
After the Chinese language-owned companies withdrew their bid, the fee stated it will “shut its in-depth investigation”.
The probe was launched below new guidelines that got here into pressure final yr and search to forestall international subsidies from undermining truthful competitors within the EU.
“We’re massively investing within the set up of photo voltaic panels to lower our carbon emissions and vitality payments — however this could not come on the expense of our vitality safety, our industrial competitiveness and European jobs,” the EU’s inside market commissioner, Thierry Breton, stated.
The brand new guidelines guarantee “international corporations which take part within the European economic system accomplish that by abiding to our guidelines on truthful competitors and transparency”, he added.
However the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU slammed the principles “as a software of financial coercion” which left the Chinese language corporations with “no commercially prudent choices however to withdraw”.
The CCCEU claimed the Chinese language corporations confronted extra scrutiny than different non-EU companies, and stated the withdrawal “hampers” the EU’s “inexperienced transformation efforts”.
– Rising commerce tensions –
One of many two consortiums focused within the probe consists of the Enevo group in Romania and a German subsidiary of Chinese language dad or mum firm Longi Inexperienced Vitality Expertise.
Longi — the world’s largest photo voltaic panel producer — stated it remained “absolutely dedicated to working with its companions in Europe” to make sure the continent “can meet its formidable renewable vitality and local weather targets.”
The second consortium was made up of two subsidiaries each absolutely managed by Chinese language state-owned agency, Shanghai Electrical group.
They’d utilized to design, assemble and function a photovoltaic park in Romania, partly financed by EU funds.
The estimated worth of the contract was round 375 million euros ($405 million).
Europe depends closely on international photo voltaic panels. Greater than 97 % of the panels in Europe are imported, primarily from China, in line with Brussels.
Different EU probes have been opened into Chinese language subsidies for electrical vehicles and trains, and wind generators as commerce tensions escalate between the 2 sides.
A combat over photo voltaic panels is nothing new for the EU.
In 2013, the EU imposed anti-dumping duties after European producers stated Chinese language panel imports had been undercutting their companies, although they had been scrapped 5 years later.
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