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EU costs guard dog rebukes Commission over aid strategy

The European Union's. spending guard dog on Wednesday criticised the European. Commission for not fully examining the need for public subsidies. to support the green transition or figuring out whether they. would misshape the EU's single market.

The European Court of Auditors (ECA) provided four primary. suggestions in a humiliating rebuke for the Commission,. consisting of strengthening oversight, gathering more sectoral data. and ensuring aid is conditional on sound analysis. The. suggestions are not binding but are typically followed.

The ECA's report into looser state help guidelines during the. COVID-19 pandemic, after Russia's intrusion of Ukraine, and for. the European Green Offer said the EU executive acted promptly to. allow EU nations to approve extraordinary subsidies.

However it concluded Brussels did not constantly adequately. keep an eye on the influence on competition of help that nearly tripled. from pre-pandemic levels to over 320 billion euros ($ 346. billion) in both 2020 and 2021 and almost 230 billion euros in. 2022.

From 2023, EU members have had greater scope to support. renewable energy implementation, decarbonisation of industry and. production of clean tech products, such as wind turbines or. heat pumps. Some steps last till completion of 2025.

The ECA stated the Commission did refrain from doing an economic. evaluation on the need for this state aid and had not yet looked. into its effect.

The EU executive pushed for quick action in reaction to the. $ 369 billion of green aids in the U.S. Inflation Reduction. Act (INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT), although a report in October 2023 about IRA's effect. on the EU economy was undetermined.

Recent research studies have shown that the IRA's effect might. be more minimal than initially thought. This also then raises a. question associated with the appropriate level of additional public. support for the EU economy, the ECA stated.

Sometimes, help can be granted without having to compare. this with no-aid scenarios and there is no clawback mechanism to. ensure aid is restricted to a minimum.

The Commission, said the ECA, argued that the impact of EU. nations outspending each other and distorting competitors was. minimal mainly since the state aid regimes are temporary.

Nevertheless, there is a threat that even short-lived exemptions. have a longer-term effect, its report stated.

(source: Reuters)