Turning on subsidy tap for EU green deal a hard sell to smaller countries, critics

The European Union is poised to turn on its subsidies tap again, this time to counter U.S. clean energy aid, after already doling out billions in the last three years to businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent war in Ukraine.

However, easing the bloc's state aid rules to grant more money to companies has drawn criticism from smaller EU countries and experts who argue there are less costly and more effective solutions.

The looser rules, which the European Commission wants to apply until the end of 2025, are part of the EU executive's Green Deal Industrial Plan announced on Wednesday, which includes simplifying rules and fast-tracking permits for green projects.

It is designed to counter the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which the EU fears will lure their companies across the Atlantic.

Critics say turning on the subsidies tap would...