Foreign Subsidies Regulation fully applicable

The notification and pre-approval requirements for M&A transactions and public tenders subject to the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”), which empowers the European Commission to review and address distortions caused by foreign subsidies in the internal market, became fully applicable on 12 October 2023. This means that companies engaging in large M&A deals and EU public tenders now need to submit a mandatory ex ante filing to the Commission if the thresholds with respect to foreign subsidies are met.

Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1441 lays down the procedures and content of notifications of in-scope concentrations and public procurement bids, rules for calculating time limits, as well as procedural rules on preliminary reviews and in-depth investigations in cases of suspected distortive foreign subsidies.

More details on the notification thresholds and the Commission’s powers are set out in the article under this link.