The Chinese railway giant CRRC withdrew from an auction in Bulgaria after the European Union launched an investigation against it last month for alleged subsidies that violate European regulation, the European Commission announced, as quoted by euractiv.bg.
As a result of the Chinese company's withdrawal, the Commission will “end its in-depth investigation”, the announcement said.
Brussels announced the investigation on February 16, and EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive is believed to have relied on subsidies to “provide an unduly advantageous bid” and to win the tender for electric trains in Bulgaria.
The commission said on Tuesday that it “takes into account the withdrawal” of CRRC.
„After just a few weeks, our first investigation under the Foreign Subsidy Regulation has already produced results,”, announced Breton.
He pointed out that Europe's single market remains open “for companies that are truly competitive and play fair”, therefore Brussels will take “all necessary measures to preserve the economic security and competitiveness of Europe”.
The Bulgarian tender was for the purchase of 20 electric trains and their maintenance for 15 years at a total value of around 610 million euros.
The CRRC company is the largest train manufacturer in the world. It has contracts in more than 110 countries and regions, from US cities to India and Latin America.
According to the EU Foreign Subsidy Regulation, companies must notify the European Commission of all EU public procurement tenders worth more than 250 million euros, and if they have received at least four million euros in foreign financial contributions in the previous three years.< /p>
The EU recently tightened controls on Chinese companies, which may benefit from state subsidies to fight off their rivals.
In September, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an investigation into Chinese subsidies for electric vehicles, which the European industry judged to be “artificially low”.
In January, Brussels unveiled policies to prevent sensitive technology or infrastructure from falling into the hands of economic rivals such as China.