Access to preparatory documents and inter-service consultations regarding the evidentiary standards of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2022/2560)
Dear Directorate-General for Competition,
Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:
1. Internal working documents, memos, and draft impact assessments discussing the evidentiary thresholds, the burden of proof, and the use of structural presumptions regarding foreign state capital under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2022/2560).
2. Meeting minutes, briefing notes, and records of inter-service consultations (particularly between DG COMP and DG TRADE) that detail the policy rationale for departing from traditional EU State aid accounting standards—specifically the Market Economy Operator Principle (MEOP)—when assessing foreign subsidies.
3. Internal documents, analyses, or correspondence discussing the administrative treatment of third-country "opacity," the fungibility of foreign state capital, and the decision on whether to accept or reject internal corporate accounting (such as IFRS-compliant audits, cost-allocation models, or financial firewalls) as ex-ante evidence to rebut presumptions of market distortion.
Please restrict this request to preparatory and legislative drafting documents produced between the publication of the White Paper on Levelling the Playing Field (June 2020) and the final adoption of the FSR (December 2022).
Yours faithfully,
Max Oro Murillo
Dear Sir or Madam,
We are writing to you concerning your request for access to documents sent
on 24/05/2026 and registered on 26/05/2026 under case number 2026/2740.
Since you have not indicated your postal address, we are not able to start
handling your request. The 15 working days to reply to your request will
start running only when you send us your postal address.
You can send your postal address by replying to this e-mail. If we do not
receive your reply we may close this case.
Please note that you can submit a request for access to Commission
documents via the portal [1]'Request a Commission document', which does
not require you to indicate your postal address.
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Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Competition - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://www.ec.europa.eu/transparency/do...
2. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
3. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
4. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/...
Dear Competition,
Dear Access to Documents Team,
Thank you for your message regarding case number 2026/2740.
Please find my valid postal address for this academic research request below:
Rode kruislaan 1418, 4KD
1111 XD,
Diemen, North Holland,
Amsterdam.
Kind regards,
Max Oró Murillo
Yours faithfully,
Max Oro Murillo
Dear Sir or Madam,
We hereby acknowledge the receipt of your request for access to documents
sent on 24/05/2026 and registered on 27/05/2026 under the case number
2026/2740.
We will handle your request within 15 working days as of the date of
registration. The time-limit expires on 17/06/2026. We will let you know
if we need to extend this time limit for additional 15 working days.
To find more information on how we process your personal data, please see
[1]the privacy statement.
Yours faithfully,
Directorate-General for Competition - Access to Documents
European Commission
References
Visible links
1. https://ec.europa.eu/info/principles-and...
Dear Mr Murillo,
Thank you for your request for access to documents dated 27 May 2026,
registered under the reference EASE 2026/2740.
We are writing to query you on the exact nature of the documents
requested. According to your request, the documents requested should
cover:
1 Internal working documents, memos, and draft impact assessments
discussing the evidentiary thresholds, the burden of proof, and the use of
structural presumptions regarding foreign state capital under the Foreign
Subsidies Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2022/2560).
2 Meeting minutes, briefing notes, and records of inter-service
consultations (particularly between DG COMP and DG TRADE) that detail the
policy rationale for departing from traditional EU State aid accounting
standards—specifically the Market Economy Operator Principle (MEOP)—when
assessing foreign subsidies.
3 Internal documents, analyses, or correspondence discussing the
administrative treatment of third-country "opacity," the fungibility of
foreign state capital, and the decision on whether to accept or reject
internal corporate accounting (such as IFRS-compliant audits,
cost-allocation models, or financial firewalls) as ex-ante evidence to
rebut presumptions of market distortion.
Given the broad scope of your request, we would kindly ask for some
further clarifications:
- With respect to the concepts of ‘evidentiary threshold’, the ‘burden of
proof’ and the ‘use of structural presumptions’, could you please clarify
the scope of those concepts and/or the context in which these would be
addressed?
- Could you please clarify what is meant ‘opacity’ in the context of your
request.
Any further background information or clarification you could provide us
with regard to the context of your request, would be appreciated and allow
us to better identify those documents potentially falling under the scope
of your request.
Kind regards,
The FSR Team
Dear FSR Team,
Thank you for your swift response and for the opportunity to clarify my request.
To provide brief background context: I am currently finalizing academic research for my LL.M. in European Competition Law and Regulation at the University of Amsterdam. My research focuses on a comparative analysis of the evidentiary requirements under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation and the EU State aid regime
1. Clarification on ‘Evidentiary threshold’, ‘Burden of proof’, and ‘Structural presumptions’
This refers to internal discussions, impact assessments, or policy memos addressing how the Commission evaluates the risk of cross-subsidization within a corporate group. Specifically, I am looking for documents detailing the methodology and internal rationale for assessing how a financial contribution granted outside the Union may benefit internal market activities. I am interested in how the evidentiary requirements for establishing this link under the FSR were compared to or distinguished from the tracing requirements used in State aid control.
2. Clarification on ‘Opacity’
By "opacity," I am referring to the administrative challenges related to "information asymmetries" or the lack of reliable market benchmarks when evaluating third-country state capitalism and State-Owned Enterprises. I am seeking documents that discuss how these specific information asymmetries were evaluated internally, particularly regarding the criteria for accepting, weighing, or discounting internal corporate accounting (such as Activity-Based Costing, IFRS-compliant audits, or internal cost-allocation models) as evidence to demonstrate market-conformity.
I hope this neutralizes the scope and provides the necessary precision to facilitate your search. If it would assist in expediting the process, I am happy to limit the scope of the search to preparatory works, internal guidelines, and inter-service consultations generated between the publication of the 2020 White Paper and the finalization of the FSR Guidelines.
Thank you for your time and assistance.
Yours sincerely,
Max Oro Murillo
Hello,
Please find attached a message concerning your request for access to
Commission documents registered under the above case number 2026/2740.
Kind regards,
Dear Sir,
We refer to your request registered on 27 May 2026 under the
above-mentioned reference number.
Please find attached a scan of the reply to your request for access to
documents, signed by the Director.
Yours faithfully,
The FSR Team
Dear Sir,
Please find attached a new version of the reply. It appears that the links
in the previous version were not working.
Best regards,
The FSR Team
From: COMP FOREIGN SUBSIDIES
Sent: Wednesday, July 8, 2026 4:57 PM
To: '[FOI #17184 email]'
<[FOI #17184 email]>
Cc: COMP ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS <[email address]>
Subject: Your application for access to documents – Ref EASE No 2026/2740
Dear Sir,
We refer to your request registered on 27 May 2026 under the
above-mentioned reference number.
Please find attached a scan of the reply to your request for access to
documents, signed by the Director.
Yours faithfully,
The FSR Team