Clifford Chance

The new mandatory ex-ante regime for M&A transactions and public procurement procedures above certain thresholds introduced by the EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation ("FSR") came into force on 12 October 2023, and has thus far resulted in a considerable number of notifications/declarations to the Commission. The Commission attempted to clarify some practical and procedural aspects in the Implementing Regulation published in July 2023 and in some brief guidance published after the regime came into force. However, due to the private nature of proceedings, this has not been enough to give EU and non-EU businesses a better sense of how the potentially far-reaching FSR is likely to impact their future investments in the EU. This is all-the-more true following the launch by the European Commission in April 2024 of the first ever ex-officio investigation as well as the first ever FSR-based dawn raid based on the FSR (which has been challenged before the European Court of Justice).

In this webinar, Clifford Chance speakers Anastasios Tomtsis (moderator), Begoña Barrantes, Michael Rueter, Caroline Scholke, Georgios Yannouchos and Arne Gayk were joined by Beatriz Sanz Fernández-Vega, Director of Competition at Telefónica S.A. to give overview of the FSR one year on, and discuss the main implications and challenges.