4 Nations Add Names To Letter Urging Caution On Relaxing State Aid Rules

Czechia, Hungary, Latvia and Slovakia have added their signatures to a 'joint non-paper' (a letter), initially composed by the gov'ts of Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden in Dec 2022, urging caution from the EU on the potential relaxation of state aid rules as part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan.

• The Commission is currently working on adapting the 'State Aid Temporary Crisis Framework', initially intended to allow member states to deal with the economic impact of the war in Ukraine. The adaptations would come as part of the Green Deal Industrial Plan to allow state aid to be used to promote green tech and renewable energy transition in response to the US Inflation Reduction Act.
• Signatories of the letter (link can be found here) warn that "State aid for the mass production and commercial activities can lead to significant negative effects including the fragmentation of [the] internal market, harmful subsidy races and [the[ weakening of regional development. These harms can be greater than the positive effects."
• Italian PM Giorgia Meloni meets with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin on 3 Feb, with the two on the opposite sides of the debate, Meloni having warned of unequal competition from German firms boosted by state aid, while Scholz indicated yesterday that the Commission was on 'the right track' with the Green Industrial Plan.