Regulating Competition in a World of State Capitalism(s): The Legal Regime of Foreign Subsidies in the European Union

The paper analyses the legal framework established by the European Union with regard to foreign subsidies and their compatibility with the rules of the internal market. The analysis is developed on the basis of Regulation no. 2022/2560, i. e. the cornerstone of European legislation on this topic. The paper explores and assesses the legal principles and operative mechanisms laid out in the regulation, also pointing out possible structural weaknesses of the framework established by the European Union, with special regard to some countries (such as China) where public control over the economy assumes hybrid and dynamic forms. In the second place, the paper discusses some practical applications of Regulation No. 2022/2560, then interpreting the outcomes of such application in light of a general shift of European economic law towards a degree of public intervention in the economy heavily, if not mainly, motivated by security and geopolitical concerns.