1. Where the Commission considers that the information referred to in Article 9 indicates the possibility that a foreign subsidy distorting the internal market exists, the Commission shall seek all the information it considers necessary to assess, on a preliminary basis, whether the financial contribution under examination constitutes a foreign subsidy and whether it distorts the internal market. To that end, the Commission may, in particular:
(a)
request information in accordance with Article 13; and
(b)
conduct inspections within and outside the Union in accordance with Article 14 or Article 15.
2. Where a Member State has informed the Commission that a relevant national procedure is envisaged or has been opened, the Commission shall inform that Member State of the start of the preliminary review. In particular, the Commission shall inform Member States that have notified the Commission about a national procedure pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of the start of the preliminary review. Where the preliminary review is initiated in relation to a public procurement procedure, the Commission shall also inform the contracting authority or contracting entity concerned.
3. Where the Commission, based on the preliminary review, has sufficient indications that an undertaking has been granted a foreign subsidy that distorts the internal market, it shall:
(a)
adopt a decision to initiate an in-depth investigation (‘decision to initiate the in-depth investigation’) which summarises the relevant issues of fact and law and includes the preliminary assessment of the existence of a foreign subsidy and of the actual or potential distortion in the internal market;
(b)
inform the undertaking under investigation;
(c)
inform Member States and, where the in-depth investigation is initiated in relation to a public procurement procedure, the contracting authority or contracting entity concerned; and
(d)
publish a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union inviting the submission of views in writing within a period of time prescribed by the Commission.
4. Where the Commission, in the course of a preliminary review, concludes that there are insufficient indications to initiate an in-depth investigation, either because there is no foreign subsidy or because there are insufficient indications of an actual or potential distortion in the internal market, it shall close the preliminary review, inform the undertaking under investigation and Member States that were informed pursuant to paragraph 2, as well as the contracting authority or contracting entity concerned where the preliminary review was initiated in relation to a public procurement procedure.