The European Commission on Wednesday opened investigations into two business groups bidding for a public contract to build and operate a solar panel plant in Romania.
The probes "aim to preserve Europe’s economic security and competitiveness" in the strategically important solar panel sector, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement.
The EU's executive arm is investigating after preliminary checks found foreign subsidies may have helped the bidders unfairly compete for the contract.
The first group under scrutiny involves LONGi Green Energy Technology Co., Ltd, a Chinese solar panel company with a subsidiary based in Frankfurt, Germany.
A second investigation concerns a group made up of Shanghai Electric UK Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Electric Hong Kong International Engineering Co. Ltd, both belonging to the Shanghai Electric Group Co. Ltd, a state-owned company from China.
The investigation took place under new powers to protect the European Union's economy from market distortions linked to subsidies for companies from non-EU countries like China.
Chinese state support for business is a particular sore point for the EU, which for decades has applied strict competition rules to domestic companies.
When bidding for public contracts, subsidies must be disclosed for orders worth €250 million ($270 million) or more. Companies supported with state money can be excluded from public contracts in the EU.
The commission underlined that the investigation is still ongoing.
