European Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton announced on Monday that the European Commission would conclude its investigation into Chinese bidders in a public tender for a solar park in Romania. This decision followed the withdrawal of the Chinese companies from the bidding process.
The Commission initiated two investigations on April 3 to scrutinize whether Chinese participants in the tender had unfairly benefited from subsidies while bidding for a contract valued at approximately 610 million euros ($658 million).
The first consortium under investigation consisted of Romania’s ENEVO Group and a subsidiary of LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., while the second involved subsidiaries of the Chinese state-owned Shanghai Electric Group Co.
Breton acknowledged the withdrawal of LONGi Solar and Shanghai Electric from the bidding process, leading to the closure of the Commission’s investigation. He emphasized the importance of balancing investments in solar panel installations with considerations for energy security, industrial competitiveness, and European employment.
“We are massively investing in the installation of solar panels to decrease our carbon emissions and energy bills – but this should not come at the expense of our energy security, our industrial competitiveness and European jobs,” Breton stated.
The decision aligns with the EU foreign subsidies regulation, which mandates companies to notify the European Commission of subsidies, enabling the Commission to assess whether such subsidies provide an unfair advantage in bidding processes.
