Germany calls for overhaul of EU foreign subsidy rules

Mace | 23rd December 2025 | Brussels, Uncategorised
Reichstagsgebäude_von_Westen

Berlin urges a full rethink of EU foreign subsidy controls, warning current rules impose heavy burdens and risk harming investment.

Germany has called for a full reworking of the European Union’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation, arguing that the current framework for policing foreign government support to companies operating in the EU market is overly burdensome and needs substantial revision. Berlin’s criticism comes as EU institutions prepare a formal review of the regulation after more than two years in operation, with businesses and several member states raising concerns about compliance complexity and the sheer volume of notifications required. The Foreign Subsidies Regulation was introduced to plug a gap in EU competition and trade law by tackling distortions caused by subsidies granted by non EU governments. The rules are designed to address situations where foreign financial support can give companies an unfair advantage when acquiring EU businesses or competing for public contracts. Companies meeting certain thresholds must notify the European Commission, which can investigate and impose remedies where distor...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



We need to talk about Kemi

Mace | October 5, 2026

In contrast to last year's Tory conference, Kemi Badenoch is coming out guns blazing, not the least when it comes to defence, says Flora Watkins

Don’t mention the B word: Andy Burnham brings Brexit back into national conversation 

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | September 30, 2026

Andy Burnham has reignited debate over Brexit renegotiations following comments at the Labour Party conference on Tuesday and on the Today programme on Wednesday morning. 

Markus Leutert, Corporate Affairs, PerkinElmer – “Focus on outcomes, rather than outputs”

Mace | September 29, 2026

Leutert's career has included moments close to politics, including time as a speechwriter, but he concluded that he can have more impact behind the scenes.

Leader in UK Public Affairs: Dr Michelle Howard, Senior Advisor for Defence and Space, Lexington Communications: “The future of public affairs is full of promise for the creative”

Mace | September 16, 2026

Lexington’s Michelle Howard explains how an unconventional career spanning opera, journalism, hydropower and defence led her into public affairs, why political instability rewards creativity and listening, and what

FGS Global acquires Washington government affairs agency

Mace | August 7, 2026

FGS Global has acquired Washington, DC-based government affairs firm Rich Feuer Anderson.

Kemi’s true blue purge, with help from Sir Philip May

William Cash | July 26, 2026

The news that former Home Secretary Sir Grant Shapps has failed to make the new Tory candidate list has put fear into dozens of former Conservative MPs. Whether

Brussels Diary by Konstantinos Bogdanos: ‘The local bistros are half-empty as the Belgian middle class finds even a weekend meal an unaffordable luxury”

Konstantinos Bogdanos | May 26, 2026

Konstantinos Bogdanos, our regular Brussels Diarist, on how the bills for Europe’s political class are finally coming due in a city where the Belgian middle-class can't afford to

Are Labour eyeing a return to the EU? Mace investigates the key players involved 

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | May 19, 2026

Recent comments by the former health secretary have plunged Brexit back into national conversation, but what does Labour actually think?

EU likely to shelve chemical reform amid industry pressure 

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | May 6, 2026

The reform concerns a pre-existing law on the Regulation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and has been in place since June 2007.  

UK ‘global investor’ visa proposed by lobby group to bring back UK’s non-doms

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | April 23, 2026

New 'global investor visa' proposed by lobby group as UK struggles to attract the super-rich