The European Commission has ruled that Poland’s plan to grant approximately €26 million (PLN 116 million) in state aid to MAN Trucks Sp. z o. o. violates EU state aid regulations, effectively prohibiting Warsaw from disbursing the subsidies.
The decision follows an in-depth investigation launched by competition enforcers in July 2025 into public support earmarked for expanding the commercial vehicle manufacturer’s production facility in Niepołomice, located in the Małopolskie region. While EU regulators acknowledged that the expansion project aimed to boost economic development and create job growth in a less-advantaged area, the inquiry concluded that the subsidy failed to comply with strict standards under the Commission’s Guidelines on Regional State Aid.
Under European rules, regional investment aid is permissible only if member states demonstrate a clear incentive effect, meaning the corporate recipient would not have placed its investment in the specified region without receiving public funds. State aid must also be kept to the absolute minimum necessary to secure the project, ensuring subsidies remain proportionate and do not distort the EU internal market.
Following its thorough probe, the Commission determined that Polish authorities failed to prove the €26 million payout was decisive in persuading MAN Trucks to locate its facility expansion in Niepołomice. Regulators found no evidence indicating the commercial vehicle producer would have chosen an alternative investment location absent state funding. Furthermore, Polish officials failed to establish that the aid package represented the minimum required amount, making the financial intervention disproportionate.
Because the aid lacked a genuine incentive effect and exceeded proportional limits, European competition authorities concluded that the subsidy creates undue competitive distortions inside the Single Market. Poland is legally barred from issuing the subsidy package to MAN Trucks, which operates as a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group’s commercial vehicle arm, Traton SE.