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The Foreign Subsidies Regulation - now it gets real!
| Date: |
16 February 2023
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| Time: |
19:00 - 20:30 (CET)
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| Panelists: |
Marceline Tournier
Global Head of Antitrust | Associate General Counsel EMENA
Nestlé S.A.
Vevey
Sarah Blazek / Dr Jens Peter Schmidt
Partners
Noerr LLP
Brussels
Alexandra Rogers
Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
Brussels
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| Location: |
In person (Brussels) | 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 16 February
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The European Commission launched a 4-week public consultation on
the Foreign Subsidies Implementing Regulation (‘IR’) on 06 February. The FSR will apply from 12
July 2023. The notification requirements for concentrations and public
procurement procedures will apply from 12 October 2023.
As
the FSR joins the growing
list of regulatory conditions precedent to become part of the due diligence
reviews of M&A deals in Europe, the panel will offer their views on (i.a.):
· What
are the main issues on which clients need clarity out of the IR consultation?
· Best
practices for managing the FSR’s filing obligations? · Can
the FSR, EUMR and FDI screening in-house processes be streamlined? · What
about national developments (for
ex. the German Supply Chain Due Diligence Act)?
The Commission expects the FSR to trigger notifications
of around 30-40 mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, public procurement
bids and 30-45 ex officio investigations annually.
Some
commentators have suggested that in a worst-case M&A scenario, any (non-) EU
company benefiting from a third country "financial contribution" could be subject to the FSR’s, EUMR’s
and national FDI screening filing obligations simultaneously.
Set against the Commission’s statement that it intends
to make “full use” of
the new powers in the FSR - reinforced by its ambitious hiring plans and
competitors’ complaints - participants in this first Europe-wide 'Chatham House rule' in-person / webinar panel discussion will
emerge better informed to respond to the IR consultation and to prepare their client(s) for the
implications of the FSR for their future M&A deals
and public contracts bids later this year.
List of participants (updated 08 February)
Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market OJEU L330/1
(23.12.22)
Statement of the European Commission on multilateral rules to address distortive foreign subsidies on the adoption of the FSR, OJEU C 491/7 (23.12.22)
Foreign Subsidies Regulation: rules to ensure fair and open EU markets enter into force (12.01.23)
Foreign Subsidies Regulation draft Implementing Regulation page
'Regulating for Foreign Subsidies in the EU?', E De Smijter, N Petras, DG COMP, Brussels Matters (12.05.21)
'The EU Foreign Subsidy Regulation: A new set of wide-reaching powers for the European Commission', Norton Rose Fulbright alert (January 2023)
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