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The FSR 2026 Guidelines - towards greater clarity
| Date: |
05 March 2025
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| Time: |
19:00 - 20:30 (CET)
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| Speaker(s): |
Henri Piffaut
Adviser to the Director
FSR Implementation
DG COMP
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| Location: |
In-person / by webinar
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| CPD: |
Accredited for 1.5 hours CPD (UK SRA)
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| Registration: |
Closes at 12PM (CET) on 5 March
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The Foreign Subsidies Regulation includes a
commitment by the European Commission to publish Guidelines on the application
of certain of its provisions no later than mid-January next year. The Commission should launch a call for
evidence leading to draft FSR Guidelines imminently.
Last July the Commission published a staff
working document setting out some preliminary clarifications on the application
of the FSR that will be further refined through cases, updated FAQs and the Guidelines.
The Guidelines should cover at least the
following issues, namely the application of the:
· Criteria for determining the existence of a
distortion (Article 4(1)); · Balancing test (Article 6); · Power to request the prior notification of any
concentration (Article 21(5)) or foreign financial contribution received in
public procurement procedures (Article 29(8)); and · The assessment of a distortion in public
procurement procedures (Article 27).
Commission President Von der Leyen’s Mission
Letter to EVP Teresa Ribera explicitly called for the “vigorous enforcement” of
the FSR especially as regards concentrations and “…including by proactively
mapping the most problematic practices that could lead to competition
distortions”.
Senior EC officials have said they plan to
invest more in ex-officio investigations to enable the Commission
to focus its resources on the most distortive practices.
Against this background, participants in this Europe-wide 'Chatham House rule' in-person / webinar discussion (including Q&As) with Henri Piffaut will gain
the earliest insights into the key issues raised in the first year of the Commission’s
FSR enforcement practice, feeding into the draft Guidelines later in 2025.
Call for evidence [when available]
DG COMP's FSR latest news webpage (31.10.24)
DG GROW's FSR webpage
President Von der Leyen’s Mission Letter to EVP Teresa Ribera (17.09.24)
'Three M&A obstacles outside Brussels: managing EUMR, FSR and FDI risks?' Brussels Matters (05.06.24)
'Litigating the Foreign Subsidies Regulation - the economists' role?' Brussels Matters (23.11.23)
'The Foreign Subsidies Regulation - setting priorities?' Brussels Matters (12.07.23)
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