CELIS-Blog
CFIS 24: Paris Insights – A firm-level perspective on investment screening in the EU
The CELIS Blog is launching its very first special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS). Our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and practitioners in the field, share their views on the topics we will be discussing in the various panels during CFIS. CFIS is the flagship event…
Read More ...CFIS 24: Paris Insights – Background Paper on Foreign Subsidies Regulation
The CELIS Blog is launching its very first special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS). Our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and practitioners in the field, share their views on the topics we will be discussing in the various panels during CFIS. CFIS is the flagship event…
Read More ...CFIS 24: Paris Insights – Investment Screening and Economic Security in the Majority World
From the Editors The CELIS Blog is launching its very first special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS). Our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and practitioners in the field, share their views on the topics we will be discussing in the various panels during CFIS. CFIS is…
Read More ...The First Court (Interim Reliefs) Decision on the Dutch FDI Screening Regime: Setting the Boundaries
By Najibullah Zamani, Radboud University Introduction In recent years, mostly due to geopolitical developments, the perception of FDI by states has changed fundamentally. FDI is used increasingly as a tool to pursue geopolitical and security interests rather than as an objective in itself. As a consequence of this geo-politicization and securitization of FDI, more and…
Read More ...The U.S. Prohibition of the MineOne-Acquisition: What would be the treatment under EU and German Foreign Direct Investment Legislation?
By Benedikt Sichla, Research assistant at Clifford Chance 1. Introduction On May 13, 2024, President Biden issued an order prohibiting for national security reasons the acquisition of real estate and the operation of a cryptocurrency mining facility in close proximity to a U.S. Air Force base. The foreign ownership of the acquirer by nationals of…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening – June 2024
European Union – European Commission opens first in-depth investigation On 10 June 2024, the European Commission (EC) opened its first in-depth investigation into the planned acquisition of sole control of PPF Telecom Group (PPF), a European telecommunications company headquartered in Czechia, by a state-controlled buyer from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Emirates Telecommunications Group…
Read More ...The European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act: How Effective In Addressing Supply Chains Risks?
By Cecilia Nota, PhD Candidate University of Turin 1. Introduction In May 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, establishing a framework for ensuring a secure and sustainable supply of Critical Raw Materials, came into force. This contribution aims to assess how effectively this regulation addresses the current supply chain risks faced by the European Union (EU).…
Read More ...Commission’s Discretion, Court’s Self-restraint. On the EU Court’s Approach to Reviewing Fines in Competition Cases
By Robert Foyle, University College Dublin* The General Court consistently defers to the European Commission’s discretion and fining guidelines when imposing fines. This change limits judicial intervention and may undermine defendants’ rights. A reliance on the Commission’s Guidelines has contributed to this restrained approach, raising concerns about the implications for fair competition enforcement. …
Read More ...Updated guidance on the UK’s investment screening regime: key takeaways
By Veronica Roberts, Andre Pretorius and Ruth Allen, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP On 21 May 2024 the UK Government published updated versions of two key documents for investors seeking to assess how the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) screening regime may apply to a proposed transaction: an updated statement on how the Secretary…
Read More ...The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism of the European Union
By Helge Wieggrefe, Research Assistant at the University of Münster and Co-Founder of kolum.earth In May last year, the European Union agreed to introduce the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), the first border tax adjustment for carbon pricing. To this end, a second emissions trading scheme will be set up that will apply to…
Read More ...Extended Screening of Foreign Investment in France: A Risk of Incompatibility with Company Law?
By Sabine Naugès and Professor Rémi Dalmau with contribution from Marie Soriano | McDermott Will & Emery Control of foreign direct investments in France (FDI) has been steadily tightened since 2014. The provisions of Articles L. 151-3 and R. 151-1 et seq. of the French Monetary and Financial Code (CMF), as supplemented by the…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening – May 2024
Netherlands – First interim relief court ruling to restrict the retroactive FDI enforcement by Dutch Minister Only two weeks after the Investments, Mergers and Acquisitions Act (FDI Act) came into force on 15 June 2023, the Minister made use of the possibility under the FDI Act to retroactively ‘call-in’ transactions that took place before the…
Read More ...Foreign Direct Investment in Thailand
By Lukas Baumgärtner, Mag. Iur, LL.M., Attorney at Law at Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft (Bangkok and Yangon) I. INTRODUCTION Thailand has demonstrated a significant trajectory of economic development over recent decades, with foreign direct investment (ʺFDIʺ) being an important contributor to this success. FDI inflows stood at USD 10 billion in 2022, down by 31.5% compared…
Read More ...The First Court Decision on the Austrian FDI Screening Regime
By Dr. Johannes Barbist, Binder Grösswang I. Introduction A regular CELIS blog reader will know already: Austria is at the forefront of EU jurisdictions when it comes to FDI filings submitted to the EU cooperation mechanism (counted by population, see here for a compilation of the data). However, until very recently there were no…
Read More ...Conference on Investment Screening in Austria
On Thursday, 13. June 2024, the second edition of the annual conference on investment screening in Austria and the EU will take place at the University of Vienna. The aim is to convene experts from academia and legal practice to discuss topical issues of investment screening and further legal initiatives designed to strengthen the EU’s open…
Read More ...CFIUS should steel itself from domestic presidential politics. On Biden’s public intervention on the Nippon Steel-US Steel Acquisition
By Thomas P. Feddo, founder of The Rubicon Advisors LLC and former Assistant Treasury Secretary for Investment Security (2019-2021) This blogpost elaborates on the opinion piece ‘Biden, CFIUS and the US Steel Acquisition’ authored by Feddo and published on the Wall Street Journal (15 April 2024) In December 2023, Nippon Steel and US…
Read More ...Corporate Sustainability in the EU and the Obstacle Race to Eliminate Products of Forced Labour: a Pyrrhic Victory?
By Nicola Mongelli, LL.M (University of Antwerp) Introduction On the 23rd of April 2024, the European Parliament (EP), concluded the first reading of the text of the upcoming Regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market. This contribution will comment on the Regulation on Products of Forced Labour (PFL Regulation), addressing some…
Read More ...Ties that bind: A Transatlantic approach to investment screening and economic security
Washington, D.C., 05.07.2024 – Today, the CELIS Institute, in collaboration with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), hosted a key event, focusing on investment screening and national security issues across the US and EU. This high-level conference, aimed at reinforcing transatlantic economic security ties, brought together government officials, business leaders, and experts from finance,…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening – April 2024
United Kingdom – Response of the UK Government to the Cabinet Office’s ‘call for evidence’ The UK Government published its response to the Cabinet Office’s ‘call for evidence’ on the National Security and Investment Act 2021 in April 2024. The UK’s new National Security and Investment Act (NSI) came into force on 4 January 2022,…
Read More ...UK investment screening: Government confirms commitment to a more pro-investment approach and sets out next steps
By Veronica Roberts and Ruth Allen, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP On 18 April 2024 the UK Government published its response to feedback from stakeholders on the operation of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) regime since it entered into force in January 2022, gathered via a Call for Evidence issued in November 2023 (see our…
Read More ...The EU Economic Security Strategy: a Novel Approach or the Reemergence of an Old Idea?
[This blog post summarizes the following article: A. Lymperopoulos, ‘The EU Economic Security Strategy: a Novel Approach or the Reemergence of an Old Idea?’ (2024) 1 European State Aid Law Quarterly 40.] 1. What is Economic Security? The recent Economic Security Strategy (Strategy) of the European Commission (EC) introduces a new dogma in the trade…
Read More ...KlimaSeniorinnen: how did the ECtHR define States’ climate policy obligations?
Charlotte Dierickx-Visschers is a student researcher and LLM student at the University of Antwerp. She mainly focuses on sustainable development, environmental justice and fundamental rights law. On the 9th of April, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered three long-awaited rulings involving States’ obligations to mitigate climate change. Whereas two cases were declared inadmissible,…
Read More ...Introducing CELIS Pathway Training and CELIS Institute Membership
Steffen Hindelang, Roland Stein and Andrea Berger Athens Read in this Blog Post about two of the Institute’s latest projects: (1) We have recently launched the unique CELIS European Investment Screening Pathway Training. This series of courses is specifically designed for professionals who want to navigate the increasingly complex landscape of investment screening in…
Read More ...The Role of US Investments for EU Technology Sovereignty
Dr Matthias Bauer, Director at ECIPE and Ms Dyuti Pandya, Junior Analyst at ECIPE Industry data point to a considerable investment disparity between US and EU digital companies, underscoring the role of US tech investments in the EU’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector and highlighting the mutual interdependence between the two regions. In…
Read More ...What Role For Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises After The Presidential Elections?
By Pierfrancesco Mattiolo, University of Antwerp The Indonesian economy is growing at a rapid pace, following a model that combines free market principles with State planning. During the administration of President Joko Widodo, State-Owned Enterprises have gained even more prominence. How will his successor Prabowo Subianto wield this tool? Over the next twenty years,…
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