Latest news with #stateaid
Bloomberg
a day ago
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
China Says Progress Made With EU on Electric Vehicle Price Talks
China's commerce ministry said talks with the European Union on setting minimum prices for Chinese-made electric vehicles have 'entered final stages,' although more work is required to reach a deal. The two sides are hammering out an agreement after the EU imposed steep tariffs on Chinese EV imports last year, alleging state subsidies gave them an unfair advantage.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Metal industry group says new EU state aid rules fail to help
BRUSSELS, June 6 (Reuters) - European Commission plans to revamp state aid rules overlook heavy industry, critical to processing energy transition metals, as they fail to mitigate high energy costs while green rules could penalise them, a metals industry group said in a letter on Friday. The Commission is due to announce new state aid rules on June 26 after a public consultation on its February proposal. "While we are committed to industrial decarbonisation, a framework that is over-focused on this objective and fails to concurrently and robustly address the competitiveness of energy-intensive industries would be a critical error," industry group Eurometaux said in the letter. The group sent the letter this week to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the commissioners in charge of climate, industry, energy and competition. The new rules are part of the Commission's goal to revitalise Europe's flailing industries with its Clean Industrial Deal. The spike in energy costs over the last few years due to the loss of Russian natural gas has hit European industry hard. The share of energy has risen to 60% of total operational costs for some smelters versus 40% prior to the 2021-2022 energy crisis. The high costs make the sector increasingly uncompetitive at a time when the EU wants to reduce its over-dependence on third countries, namely China, for strategic materials key to clean tech and power grid infrastructure. U.S. rivals benefit from cheap gas and Chinese firms from massive state aid across the supply chain. "Measures substantially addressing our sectors' competitiveness are absent from the proposed framework. The adopted Clean Industry State Aid Framework must go beyond for immediate support to energy intensives, to cope with very high energy prices," the letter states. "There are currently no mechanisms helping electricity consumers switch to consuming low-carbon electricity sources." Heavy industry cannot fully take advantage of the bloc's rising renewable energy output due to location and daily variability, forcing them to rely on expensive fossil fuels. The draft rules could exclude companies from state benefits owing to their indirect electricity emissions. Further, the letter calls for the Commission to support the return of idled capacity such as Slovalco's aluminium smelter in Slovakia. "Failure to act will inevitably lead to a further loss of our industrial capacity," the group said in its letter.
E&E News
28-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Germany's power subsidy plans may be illegal. That's unlikely to matter.
BRUSSELS — Germany's plan to help cover power-hungry firms' electricity bills crosses a line for anyone who knows the EU's rulebook on doling out state subsidies to industry. But no one really believes that Brussels will stand up and prove to be a dealbreaker when facing the might of Berlin. The Germans tend to get their way in the end (even when they concede in an internal memo that they are probably breaking the law). The scheme would essentially cap electricity prices at a bargain rate for Germany's energy-intensive companies, with the government paying the rest. For Germany's new government, that would come at a cost — roughly €10 billion by 2030. For struggling industries, however, it might be a lifesaver. Advertisement There's just one hitch: EU rules technically prevent countries from handing industries cash like that. The idea is to stop richer countries like Germany from splashing government cash on companies that smaller and more cash-strapped nations will not be able to do, creating unfair distortions in the EU market.
Bloomberg
19-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Denmark Offers Aid for Wind Investments After Failed Auction
Denmark is offering 27.6 billion Danish kroner ($4.2 billion) in state aid to ensure more investments in offshore wind as the Nordic country attempts to reignite interest after a recent failure of a government tender. In a broad-based political agreement, the government said three offshore projects with a combined capacity of 3 gigawatts will be put up for bids, according to a statement from the energy ministry on Monday.
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
EU approves 5 billion euro French scheme for wine exports to US
PARIS, May 8 (Reuters) - The European Commission has approved a 5 billion euro ($5.6 billion) French scheme to facilitate the export of wines and spirits to the United States, it said on Thursday. The Commission said the temporary scheme - approved under EU state aid rules - will be in place from May 8 to July 8, 2025, and will allow exporters of wines and spirits to export inventory to the U.S. before new tariffs take effect. ($1 = 0.8898 euros)
