Johan Stagstrup

On January 9, 2026, the European Commission published long-awaited guidelines on its enforcement of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”) (the “Guidelines”).[1] In addition to delineating the FSR’s jurisdictional scope, the Guidelines clarify three key concepts: (1) when a foreign subsidy distorts competition; (2) how a distortion’s negative and positive effects are balanced against each other (the “Balancing Test”); and (3) when the Commission may use its so-called “call-in powers” to request the prior notification of transactions and public bids that fall below the mandatory FSR thresholds.

On November 10, 2025, the Commission conditionally cleared Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s (“ADNOC”) c. €15 billion acquisition of German chemicals company Covestro AG (“Covestro”) under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”),[1] following a Phase II review.[2]

In July 2025, the Commission published its draft Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) guidelines for consultation. The guidelines discuss the FSR’s distortion and balancing tests and the EC’s powers to call in “below threshold” mergers and public tenders for ex ante review.