The European Commission has been asked by European glass producers to intervene on subsidies paid to east German rivals, arguing that the sector was already suffering from over-capacity. “At a time wh…
The European Commission has been asked by European glass producers to intervene on subsidies paid to east German rivals, arguing that the sector was already suffering from over-capacity. “At a time when the flat glass industry in Europe is facing severe over-capacity, it is unreasonable that new green field projects should receive huge subsidies,” Alan Harvard, the chairman of a European grouping of flat glass producers (GEPVP), stated. The protest was reported to have been triggered by an investment by German Troesch Glas Holding AG near Magdeburg, in Germany. Another project by Guardian Industries of the United States was also the subject of complaints. This is another blow for the German government, whose policy of channelling huge subsidies to former east Germany has been seriously contested by rival companies in other EU countries, particularly in the shipbuilding industry.