CELIS Blog
The CELIS Blog: Fueling the Conversation on Economic Security. The CELIS Blog is a unique forum for current debates on international investment control and economic security law and practice more broadly. It brings the latest developments and analysis to you. From economic security (law) experts – to economic security (law) experts.
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Latest Blog Posts
The Horizon of Investment Screening in Ukraine
Authors: Anton Arkhypov, John Kay, Mariia Bykova, Mykyta Nota and Simon Sharghi-Erdmosa. Introduction In a newly published report produced by CELIS in collaboration with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), we examine Ukraine's emerging foreign direct investment (FDI) screening framework at a critical moment for the country's post-war reconstruction. We analyse Ukraine's two draft screening laws introduced in 2025, ...
Continue reading The State of Exception in EU Investment Law
Author: Jochem de Kok (Affiliate Fellow at the Amsterdam Centre for European Law and Governance of the University of Amsterdam and Senior Associate at A&O Shearma) This blog post is based on the author's article 'Investment Screening in the EU: From Liberalisation to the State of Exception', published open access by The Journal of World Investment & Trade (advance online ...
Continue reading Who Manufactured the EU’s Trade Bazooka? ACI, ECFR, and the Geoeconomic Policy-Making
Author: Jaša Veselinovič (Research Associate, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) Introduction In response to Donald Trump's intensifying desire to 'acquire' Greenland, the EU adopted an open-carry attitude to its "trade bazooka". The Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) has been brandished more openly by European political elites with encouragement from across the Atlantic by the likes of Paul Krugman and Henry Farrell. In more subdued ...
Continue reading France’s FDI Regime: Recent Decisions Signal More Oversight
Author: Wesley Lainé (Associate, Skadden) Introduction France is a top destination for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe, attracting significant inflows through cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A). However, like most open economies, France has sought to balance its commitment to open markets with the need to protect its national interests. Achieving this balance—which has evolved over time—has led France to ...
Continue reading Authorities at the helm – Developing investment screening capabilities in Belgium – An interview with Anne Bonet
Part 1 in the CELIS blogseries ‘Authorities at the helm’ Author: Floor Doppen Introduction In the European Union (‘EU’), investment screening regulation has proliferated in the past five years. Many member states developed new administrative capabilities, struggled to develop the governance capabilities to screen investments efficiently, were tasked with explaining to colleagues, firms, lawyers and academia alike what investment screening ...
Continue reading CFIUS’s Known Investor Program: A New Chapter in Foreign Investment Screening
Author: Anonymous Introduction / Context The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) previously announced a “Known Investor Program” to streamline the U.S. foreign investment review process. Under the program, certain repeat, low-risk foreign investors may provide detailed information to CFIUS in advance of any specific deal. By collecting and assessing detailed information about a foreign investor in ...
Continue reading Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, What’s the Outcome of the Trilogue?
Part 6 in the CELIS blogseries on the revision of FDI Screening Regulation 2019/45 Authors: Andrew Hill (Amcham Europe), and Floor Doppen (University of Antwerp) Introduction The clock has started ticking for the early-2028 implementation deadline of the Foreign Investment Screening Regulation (the 'Regulation') with Germany already announcing that it will consolidate its screening rules and implement the Regulation bymid-2026, ...
Continue reading Balancing Economic Security and Investment Protection – The Case of Nexperia and the China–Netherlands BIT
Authors: Steffen Hindelang (CELIS Institute), Liam McGrath (CELIS Institute), Helene Schramm (CELIS Institute) I. Introduction While the European Union and its Member States are still assessing whether to introduce a mechanism to review outbound investment for economic security reasons, the Netherlands appears to be ahead of the policy curve. On 30 September 2025, following reports that parts of Nexperia Semiconductor's ...
Continue reading Can – and should – the EU align with US economic security policy?
Varg Folkman (Policy Analyst, the European Policy Centre) Introduction Back during Europe's summer of discontent in 2025, it went somewhat overlooked - amidst the larger trade story - that the EU, in its Turnberry Deal with the United States, had promised to "strengthen economic security alignment" between the two entities. The deal itself ended the period of high uncertainty in ...
Continue reading Investment Screening and the Nexperia Crisis: Would It Have Made a Difference?
Author: Frans-Paul van der Putten (Founder, ChinaGeopolitics) Introduction Five months have passed since the interventions by the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs and the Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal that took away control of Dutch chipmaker Nexperia from its Chinese parent company Wingtech Technologies. Looking back at what happened, now that the media frenzy has subsided, this ...
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