The EU has taken its most aggressive action yet to protect its embattled wind industry as it is launching an anti-subsidy probe into Chinese turbine suppliers concerning projects across the continent.

European Commission executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager said that the investigation concerns the supply of Chinese wind turbines for projects in Spain, Greece, France, Romania and Bulgaria.

Europe “can’t afford” to see its wind, electric vehicles or essential chips sectors wiped out by Chinese competition in the same manner that its solar sector was previously, the EU's competition czar Vestager told an audience in the US in...