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BACKGROUND AND NON-PAPERS by CFIS 25 Sherpas

2025 CFIS - Investment Screening and Economic Security

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CFIS 25 Non-Papers

Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 16/2025: Global Trends in Investment Screening – Indo-Pacific
Written by Dominika Pietkun, PhD Candidate at the Institute of Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a Programme Sherpa for CFIS 25. This Paper focuses on India, Japan, and Singapore – three pivotal Indo-Pacific economies recalibrating investment controls amid intensified geo-economic pressures while deepening links with European standards through trade, technology, and…
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Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 15/2025: Global Trends in Investment Screening – Latin America and the Caribbean
Written by Eugenio Sánchez, PhD Researcher at the Center for International Studies, Sciences Po Paris, and a Programme Sherpa for CFIS 25. Investment Screening Mechanisms (ISMs) have proliferated rapidly in advanced economies over the past two decades, but Latin America now faces similar challenges as rising FDI in strategic sectors raises national security concerns. Most…
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Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 14/2025: Global Trends in Investment Screening – EU Neighbourhood
Written by Dominika Pietkun, PhD Candidate at the Institute of Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a Programme Sherpa for CFIS 25. This Paper focuses on Armenia, Moldova, and North Macedonia, three states in the European Union’s neighbourhood that are navigating intensified geo-economic pressures while deepening integration with European rules and markets.…
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Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 13/2025: Protection or Protectionism? Mitigation, Compliance and Judicial Recourse in Investment Screening
Written by Floor Doppen, researcher at the University of Antwerp and Senior Programme Associate at the CELIS institute.  
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Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 12/2025: Cross-Border Collaboration on Investment Screening
Written by Neil Noronha, Law student at University of Virginia and CFIS 25 Programme Sherpa. This background paper briefly examines whole-of-society cross-border collaboration on investment screening as a solution to the problem of conducting timely and effective screening of complex, cross-border investments with opaque ownership structures in a geopolitically contested environment. First, it explains the…
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Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 11/2025: Powering Ahead – Investment Screening in Energy Technologies and Renewable Energy Production
Written by Tobias Pfeiffer, CFIS 25 Programme Sherpa. This paper examines the critical intersection of investment screening and the European energy transition. The shift to a renewables-based system has fundamentally expanded the concept of energy security, moving beyond traditional physical assets to encompass new vulnerabilities in supply chains and digital infrastructure. Policymakers face the dual…
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Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 10/2025: Steering the State’s Purse
Written by Simon Sharghi-Erdmosa, Programme Associate at the CELIS Institute and CFIS 25 Programme Sherpa. This paper examines two dimensions of state-backed investment through Strategic Investment Funds (SIFs): their role as capacity-building instruments that strengthen national security, and the governance and national security concerns they generate when operating across borders. Against the backdrop of rising…
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Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 9/2025: To the Defence of Defence? Investment Screening and Strategic Autonomy in the EU Defence Sector
Written by Anna Vlasiuk Nibe, CFIS 25 Programme Sherpa. In an era marked by geopolitical instability, rapid technological advancement, and strategic uncertainty, Europe faces the complex task of strengthening its defence industrial base, fostering innovation, and ensuring competitiveness while managing cross-border cooperation and protecting national security and public order. This evolving landscape presents significant opportunities…
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Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 8/2025: Balancing Innovation and Sovereignty: The Role of FDI Screening and FSR in Shaping Strategic Technologies
Written by Francesco Giovanni Lizzi, CFIS 25 Programme Sherpa. The European Union is at a strategic crossroads as it seeks to enhance its strategic autonomy in key high-tech sectors amidst increasing geopolitical tensions and technological competition. The European regulatory tools, particularly the Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation and the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, aim to strike…
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Sherpas and Papers
Non-Paper No 7/2025: European Economic Security Amid a Shifting Transatlantic Order
Written by Simon Sharghi-Erdmosa, Programme Associate at the CELIS Institute and Master Candidate in International Security at Sciences Po Paris. Until Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, the European Union’s (EU) economic security considerations had focused primarily on China and Russia. However, the Trump administration’s rapid diplomatic, military, and economic recalibration…
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Meet our Sherpas

At CFIS, each panel is supported by a dedicated Panel Sherpa.

 

Our Sherpas play a crucial role in preparing the ground for meaningful discussions. They work closely with moderators and panelists in the months leading up to the Forum, supporting both the content design of the panel and the coordination of speakers. Their task is to ensure that every conversation is anchored in the latest developments and cutting-edge debates shaping today`s and tomorrow’s debates on investment screening and economic security. 

Our CFIS 25 Panel Sherpas are aspiring young professionals who combine academic excellence with curiosity and drive — helping shape the conversations that matter at CFIS 25. 

Sherpas and Papers

Anna Vlasiuk Nibe

(Panel 4A: To the Defence of Defence)

Anna Vlasiuk Nibe is an Assistant professor at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU), section for International and Regional Politics. She is affiliated with the Center for Border Region Studies (SDU Sønderborg) and Center for War Studies (SDU Odense). Anna holds a PhD in Political Science from SDU, an MSc in International Economic Law from Kyiv National Economic University and a BSc in Market and Management Anthropology from SDU. Anna’s professional experience includes legal consultancy in the fields of corporate law, cross-border transactions, and foreign direct investment, and research and teaching in the field of EU institutions and politics, economic security and geoeconomics, global regulation and business responsibility. Anna’s research interests include the geopoliticisation of EU commercial policy, globalization and geoeconomics, and the role of market actors in a changing global order.

Her publications include: 

Pre-emptive depoliticisation: the European Commission and the EU foreign investment screening regulation, A Vlasiuk Nibe, S Meunier, C Roederer-Rynning, Journal of European Public Policy 31 (1), 182-211 

Legitimisation of foreign direct investment screening among business actors: The Danish case, A Vlasiuk Nibe, Politics and Governance 11 (4), 140-153 

Francesco Giovanni Lizzi

Francesco Giovanni Lizzi

(Panel 3: Balancing Innovation and Sovereignty)

Francesco Giovanni Lizzi is a PhD candidate in Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna. His research focuses on Sino-European economic relations, especially on how Chinese Foreign Direct Investments in critical infrastructure are framed in Germany and Italy. He was a Visiting PhD researcher at the Centre for Security, Diplomacy and Strategy (CSDS) of the Brussels School of Governance and at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. He holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Florence and served as a trainee at the Italian Embassy in Vietnam. 

Eugenio Sanchez

Eugenio Sanchez

(Panel 7B: Global trends: Latin America and Carribean)

Eugenio Sánchez is currently a PhD Researcher at the Center for International Studies (CERI) at Sciences Po in Paris. His main field of interest is International Political Economy (IPE). Eugenio's Ph.D. project examines how dependent market economies in Europe implement industrial policies in key sectors, such as banking and automotive. Eugenio earned his M.A. in Political Science from the School of Research at Sciences Po (Summa Cum Laude) and his B.A. in International Studies from Charles University (Summa Cum Laude). Since 2023, he has been the Communications Coordinator for the European Initiative for Security Studies (EISS). He is also the co-founder and co-coordinator of the Research Group on International Political Economy at CERI-Sciences Po. 
 

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Neil Noronha

(Panel 5: Strengthening the Chain)

Neil Noronha is a second-year law student at the University of Virigina (UVA). He is interested in the interdisciplinary intersection of national security, economics, and law, with a focus on investment restrictions, export controls, and sanctions. At UVA Law, he is Captain of the Philip C. Jessup International Moot Court Team, Assistant Articles Editor of the Virginia Journal of International Law, and Vice President of Professional Development of the National Security Law Forum.   

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Floor Doppen

(Panel 6: Protection or Protectionism, Panel 8: Next step for Europe)

Floor Doppen is a PhD candidate at the University of Antwerp in the department of political science. Her research is on the political economy of FDI screening and has written extensively on investment screening in the EU. Currently she is also a managing program associate at CELIS, primarily responsible for CELIS’ Thought Leaders Program.

Sherpas and Papers

Dominika Pietkun

(Panel 1: At the Helm - The CEO Fireside Chat, Panel 7A: Global trends: EU Neighborhood, Panel 7C: Global trends: Indo-Pacific)

Dominika Pietkun is a PhD candidate in the Institute of Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Her doctoral research focuses on the intricate realm of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening within the European Union (EU), with a particular emphasis on analyzing the evolving EU-level approach to FDI screening and its impact on the national monitoring mechanisms instituted by EU Member States. 

As part of her academic pursuits, Dominika has published two articles relevant to her PhD research. Her work titled “The European Commission filing gaps in the EU Regulation in the face of the war in Ukraine” was featured in the Polish Yearbook of International Law in November 2023.  

Dominika is also an associate in the Corporate and M&A practice at CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang Pośniak i Bejm sp.k.Dominika advises clients on commercial and company law and specialises in merger & acquisition transactions, restructurings and ongoing legal advice on corporate issues to private equity houses, as well as to Polish and foreign companies.Prior to joining CMS, Dominika worked for over a year and a half at Clifford Chance law firm.  

In 2021, Dominika completed a postgraduate course in International Finance organised jointly by the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH) and the EY Academy of Business, which enabled her to gain knowledge in financial reporting and analysis, financial strategy development, valuations and risk management. In June 2024 she participated in the Academy of European Law (AEL) on the Law of the European Union organised by the European University Institute in Florence. 

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Simon Sharghi Erdmosa

(Panel 2: Steering the State`s Purse)

Simon Sharghi-Erdmosa is a Programme Associate at the CELIS Institute. 

He holds a Master’s degree in International Security from Sciences Po Paris and a Bachelor’s in European Studies from Maastricht University. Since joining CELIS in 2024, Simon has been supporting the development of CELIS’s advisory capacities and commissioned research activities. He also manages the organization of CELIS’s flagship conference in Berlin and contributes to strengthening CELIS’s profile and outreach among economic security stakeholders across sectors. 

 

Before joining CELIS, Simon gained professional experience at the European Commission, in consultancy, and in a technology start-up. He is fluent in English, French, Farsi, and German.