CELIS Institute

EU – Launch of consultation platform on the EU-US Trade and Technology Council (TTC) On 18 October 2021, following the inaugural meeting in September, the European Union and the United States set up an online consultation platform for stakeholders to involve in shaping the transatlantic cooperation under the TTC. The platform will allow stakeholders to…

Japan – Notification obligation for investments in critical minerals The Ministry of Finance as well as other Ministries confirmed that foreign investors of three new “core business sectors” that plan to invest in critical minerals will be required to file a prior notification from 5 November 2021 under new rules in the Foreign Exchange and…

Luxembourg – Minister for Foreign and European Affairs submits Bill on Investment Screening On 15 September 2021, the Minister for Foreign and European Affairs has submitted a bill “establishing a national screening mechanism for foreign direct investment that may affect security or public order” for the purpose of implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/452. The Bill concerns…

EU – CJEU rules intra-EU investment arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) to be incompatible with EU law On 2 September 2021, the CJEU issued its ruling in Case C‑741/19 (Republic of Moldova v Komstroy) finding that Article 26 of the ECT is not applicable to intra-EU investment disputes due to a violation of…

Australia – The Treasury completes consultations on foreign investment reforms On 31 August 2021, the Treasury has completed its consultation process of recent reforms on foreign investment in 2020. In order to evaluate the reforms, the Treasury invited stakeholders to submit written statements on key elements such as national security, compliance, streamlining and fees. The…

Australia – Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) publishes a series of guidance notes The FIRB published a series of guidance notes which should help foreign investors navigating through the review process of their investments. The notes not only give a quick overview of the foreign investment screening regime but also contain information about how those…

Denmark – New Danish Investment Screening Regime enters into force On July 1, the new Danish Investment Screening Act, adopted by the Parliament in May, entered into force. The objective of the new law is to prevent foreign investments executed after September 1 (as the law does not apply to investments prior to that date)…