CELIS-Blog
CELIS Update on Investment Screening and Economic Security – May 2025
by Helene Schramm INVESTMENT SCREENING MECHANISMS European Union – European Parliament approves proposal for a wide framework for screening of foreign direct investments On 8 May 2025, the European Parliament adopted the proposal of a major reform of the Foreign Investment Screening Regulation, aimed at protecting strategic EU sectors from foreign threats. The…
Read More ...Clarifying The Cooperation Mechanism? Exploring DG Trade’s FDI Screening FAQ
By John Kay and Floor Doppen Over the past six years, the EU cooperation mechanism on foreign direct investment (FDI) screening has progressively advanced under the EU FDI Screening Regulation (Regulation 2019/452, henceforth the ‘Regulation’). Institutionalization of the cooperation process (through e.g. the expert group), setting up coordination cells in all EU Member States (MS)…
Read More ...Collateral Damage: What about the Casualties of the Geoeconomic Turn?
Bálint Kovács* At the beginning of this year, the government of the United States completed its outbound screening regime, adopting the final rule to implement Executive Order 14105 of 9 August 2023 (the Outbound Order).[1] The Outbound Order focuses on three key technology areas: semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies, and artificial intelligence. In an…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening and Economic Security – April 2025
by Helene Schramm INVESTMENT SCREENING MECHANISMS European Union – European Commission publishes first in-depth decision on the Foreign Subsidies Regulation in e&/PPF On 4 April 2025, the European Commission issued its first conditional Phase II decision under Regulation (EU) 2022/2560 – the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”) – in the acquisition of PPF Telecom by Emirates…
Read More ...CELIS German Chapter Round Table in Berlin – 27th May 2025
CELIS German Chapter, BLOMSTEIN and Dentons jointly organize an economic policy Round Table on 27th May (17:00-19:00) in Berlin to discuss the impact of trade policy measures on investment decisions. In particular, the debate will focus on how new and complex trade policy measures on both sides of the Atlantic and their embedding in questions…
Read More ...“MAL-TAming” – Malta aimed and Luxembourg tamed the Maltese investor citizenship scheme. Is there anything to learn from an FDI perspective?
Johannes Barbist (Binder Grösswang, Partner) Malta and certain other EU member states (e.g., Cyprus, Bulgaria, partly even Austria) have been operating schemes with preferential access to citizenship or residence for quite some time and partly still do. The standard strenuous path to citizenship or right of residence in these EU member states could be…
Read More ...The EU Anti-Coercion Regulation: A New Tool Against Economic Pressure
Georgia Tzifa & Mariia Shulha (Wilmer Hale)* As global economic pressures mount, the EU has armed itself with a powerful new tool to counter economic coercion. The EU Anti-Coercion Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/2675) has been fully in force for about a year (officially entering into force on December 27, 2023) and is poised to shape…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening and Economic Security – March 2025
by Helene Schramm with the help of intern Surbhi Gupta INVESTMENT SCREENING MECHANISMS European Union – EU consults on Foreign Subsidies Regulation Guidelines On 5 March 2025, the European Commission published a Call for Evidence seeking feedback on the upcoming Guidelines regarding the implementation of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (“FSR”). The FSR, effective…
Read More ...Transatlantic Economic Security at a Crossroads: CELIS DC Leaders Meeting 2025
John Kay, Head of Programmes and Strategic Partnerships, CELIS Institute The United States and the European Union remains one of the most deeply integrated economic partnerships in the world with immense volumes of trade, joint investment, and overlapping financial infrastructure. U.S. foreign direct investment (FDI) in Europe is roughly three times more than in Asia,…
Read More ...Learnings from the first FSR Phase II merger decision: The Commission publishes a provisional public version of the commitment decision in e&/PPF (part 2)
Lena Hornkohl, University of Vienna, & Pierfrancesco Mattiolo, University of Antwerp On 24 September 2024, the European Commission (EC) issued the long-awaited first decision (under phase II of the concentration tool) of the new Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). It took another long wait of seven months, but a provisional public version of the commitment decision…
Read More ...Learnings from the first FSR Phase II merger decision: The Commission publishes a provisional public version of the commitment decision in e&/PPF (part 1)
Lena Hornkohl, University of Vienna, & Pierfrancesco Mattiolo, University of Antwerp On 24 September 2024, the European Commission (EC) issued the long-awaited first decision (under phase II of the concentration tool) of the new Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR). It took another long wait of seven months, but a provisional public version of the commitment decision…
Read More ...CELIS German Chapter Round Table in Berlin – 27th May 2025
CELIS German Chapter, BLOMSTEIN and Dentons jointly organize an economic policy Round Table on 27th May (17:00-19:00) in Berlin to discuss the impact of trade policy measures on investment decisions. In particular, the debate will focus on how new and complex trade policy measures on both sides of the Atlantic and their embedding in questions…
Read More ...Behind the Scenes of the First Czech FDI Screening Prohibition
Jan Kupčík The Scenes The Czech FDI screening regime has been in effect since May 2021. Until recently, it had been flying pretty much under the radar due to a number of factors, in particular because of its quite narrow scope in terms of mandatory filings. We had dozens of cases, the majority of…
Read More ...Conference Report: BDI/CELIS German Chapter – Investment Screening Conference
Kilian Wagner From 27th to 28th March, the BDI and CELIS German Chapter organized the second joint conference on investment screening in Berlin. The conference took place against the backdrop of a rapidly changing geopolitical environment since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Only a few days earlier, the US administration had unexpectedly announced…
Read More ...Geopolitical Challenges Beyond the European Union: The Evolution of FDI Screening Mechanisms and the Quest for European Security
Federica Marconi* In recent years, the European Union (EU) has been confronted with a series of unprecedented global crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war. These events have had a profound impact on the geopolitical and geo-economic landscapes. Concurrently, the rapid advancement of technology has increased global interconnectedness, thereby blurring the lines between…
Read More ...ReArm Europe – the Big Bang?
Mats Cuvelier – Associate at White & Case Introduction In the wake of the United States suspending military aid to Ukraine after an infamous meeting at the White House, EU leaders convened at an emergency summit and agreed that “Europe must become more sovereign, more responsible for its own defence and better equipped to act…
Read More ...Russian Investments and Corporate Relocation: Economic Strategy or Threat to Democracies
By Davit Maisuradze and Zurab Gvelesiani, Structural Reforms Center (SRC) All Eyes on Ukraine and Quiet Capture of Georgia While the global community is fixated on Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, a parallel but less visible development has been unfolding in the region. Russia has quietly seized control over Georgia, effectively stalling its Europeanization…
Read More ...Trump Administration Signals Material Updates to CFIUS and Outbound Investment Regulations
By Adam M. Smith, Stephenie Gosnell Handler, David Wolber, Michelle Weinbaum, Dharak Bhavsar, and Chris Mullen. On February 21, 2025, the White House issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum titled the “America First Investment Policy” (the “America First Investment memo”) and accompanying fact sheet (Fact Sheet) proposing material changes to the U.S. foreign direct…
Read More ...The First Annual Report on Dual-Use Export Controls
By Kwinten Dewaele, Research Affiliate at KU Leuven (Institute for Contract Law) Introduction Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 (“the Regulation”) obliges the European Commission to publish an annual report on the implementation of the Regulation and the activities of the Dual-Use Coordination Group (DUCG). Similar obligations related to FDI screening exist (see Article…
Read More ...Transatlantic Insecurity: Revaluation of Economic Security Policy’s Business Impacts Amid US-European Turbulence
By John Kay* The recent foreign policy shifts in Washington have triggered a radical reassessment of the U.S.-European relationship, creating an evolving landscape that the transatlantic business community must closely monitor. U.S. investments in the EU are valued at approximately $3.95 trillion, and the two economies have the world’s largest trade and investment relationship.…
Read More ...The Application of Italian FDI Law to the Creation of Pledges: Monitoring the Reasonable Management of the Company.
by Andrea Gemmi, Associate, BonelliErede; PhD Candidate, University of Padova and Luca Perfetti, Partner, BonelliErede; Full Professor, Pegaso University The article illustrates how the use of vague and indeterminate clauses in the Italian FDI screening law grounds an expansive and unpredictable practice by the FDI authority. In particular, the article addresses the example of…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening and Economic Security – February 2025
by Helene Schramm with the help of intern Surbhi Gupta INVESTMENT SCREENING MECHANISMS European Union – European Economic Area’s Standing Committee of the EFTA States comments on the Proposal for a regulation on the screening of foreign investments in the Union On 25 February 2025, the European Economic Area (EEA) European Free Trade Association…
Read More ...The EU’s Evolving Approach to Open Strategic Autonomy: a Critical Perspective on the Competitiveness Compass for the EU and Other Recent Policy Developments
By Professor Sergio Mariotti, Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano Open Strategic Autonomy (OSA) has emerged as a defining concept in the evolution of European policy, shaped by an increasingly complex economic and geopolitical landscape. Two key dimensions stand out: (i) the central role of industrial policy and (ii) the integration of…
Read More ...Investment Screening-Konferenz von BDI und CELIS German Chapter
Globalisation appears to be more and more exhausted. World trade as a guarantor for prosperity and growth remains closely linked to questions of defence and national security. Particularly in the systems competition between the USA and China, more intensive investment controls at home and abroad are becoming a central political issue. For companies, investment controls…
Read More ...Investment Screening in the Netherlands: Proposed Expansion and Insights into Council Negotiations
By Jochem de Kok, Senior Associate, A&O Shearman Overview The Dutch Government has proposed an expansion of the investment screening regime. The expansion introduces a mandatory screening requirement for certain investments in artificial intelligence, advanced materials, nanotechnology, sensor and navigation technology, biotechnology, and nuclear technology for medical use (the Dutch Proposal). The Dutch Proposal aligns…
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