The European Commission will make a statement Monday as state-backed Chinese competition fuels a wave of bankruptcies in Europe.

BRUSSELS — The European Commission is in early-stage talks on emergency measures to buoy drowning EU solar manufacturers who say Chinese subsidies are suffocating the industry, according to two people familiar with the matter.

On Monday, the Commission will make a statement on the teetering sector at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, while MEPs are also expected to debate ideas to prop up the industry. Politico has the story.

Possible options could include direct support or trade defense measures, according to the people, who were granted anonymity to speak candidly. The Commission, the EU’s executive, did not confirm whether it was considering a bailout or trade defense measures.

The talks come as the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC), the body representing photovoltaic producers, this week sent a letter to Brussels appealing for “urgent” measures including a swift, EU-led buyout of their inventories.

The group argues that subsidized Chinese mass production of solar modules — which currently sell for half the price of their EU equivalents — paired with an oversupply of panels in the bloc makes it impossible for the bloc’s manufacturers to shift their stocks.

“We’re really seeing a wave of bankruptcies” in Europe, said ESMC Secretary General Johan Lindahl, citing recent insolvencies including Dutch panel producer Exasun and Austrian module manufacturer Energetic. Germany is also currently in 11th-hour talks with Meyer Burger after the Swiss solar firm said it would halt production of modules in the country as early as April.

“Everything points to the fact that Chinese manufacturers are selling below their production cost,” Lindahl said, and now the result is “very, very worrying … We’re about to lose the industry in Europe.”

Read the full story here.

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Europe’s solar panel manufacturers ask EU for emergency support

BRUSSELS, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Europe’s solar panel manufacturing industry has urged the European Union to step in with emergency measures to avoid local firms shutting down under price pressure from Chinese imports, a letter seen by Reuters showed.

Multiple European solar manufacturers have announced plans to close factories in recent months, citing pressure from a flood of imports and an oversupply of solar panel parts that have piled up in European warehouses and pushed down prices. Reuters has the story.

In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, industry group the European Solar Manufacturing Council (ESMC) warned that without rapid help, the EU risked losing more than half of its operational solar photovoltaic module manufacturing capacity within weeks.

“Over the next 4–8 weeks, major EU PV module producers and their European suppliers are poised to shut down manufacturing lines unless substantial emergency measures are promptly implemented,” said the letter, dated Jan. 30.

ESMC asked the EU to launch emergency measures including a scheme to buy up excess inventories of EU solar modules to ease the oversupply, and change state aid rules to boost government support for local solar producers.

If those measures cannot be done rapidly, the EU should also consider “safeguard” measures that could include tariffs and quotas to counter a surge of imports, the letter said.

Read the full here.