CELIS News

Estonia – Introduction of new FDI-regime On 25 January 2023, the Estonian Parliament has passed the Foreign Investment Reliability Assessment Act which will enter into force on 1 September 2023. The act will introduce the very first Foreign Direct Investment Screening (FDI) regime in Estonia. Under the new law foreign direct and indirect investments from…

France – Extension of temporary FDI framework for another year On 23 December 2022, the French government published Decree No. 2022-1622 concerning the extension for another year of the temporary framework lowering the threshold for acquiring voting rights that may trigger FDI screening procedure in France from 25% to 10%. While this temporary regime, which…

Now available: the Conference Report of the CFIS 22 in Uppsala from 01 to 03 June 2022.

EU – Commission prepares revision of the EU’s FDI Screening Regulation In a communication on its work programme for 2023 dated 18.10.2022, the European Commission announced that it is ready to review the EU FDI Screening Regulation two years after its entry into force. The aim is to identify the necessary modifications that would improve…

The CELIS Institute’s early-career scholars’ and practitioners’ network on the law and practice of economic warfare (CELIS NOW) is pleased to announce its kick-off event in Berlin. It invites proposals from interested early-career scholars and practitioners working in the field of trade and investment law. The conference will focus on the emerging doctrine of “Open Strategic Autonomy” and…

USA – Treasury publishes CFIUS Enforcement and Penalty Guidelines On 20 October 2022 the Department of the Treasury, as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), has released the first-ever CFIUS Enforcement and Penalty Guidelines. The Guidelines provide the public with information about how the Committee assesses…

Dr. Thomas Papadopoulos and Mr. Pantelis Christofides, CELIS Country Reporter for Cyprus,  provide an update on the current state of play of the process on legislation to screen foreign direct investment in Cyprus.            

Dr. Thomas Papadopoulos and Mr. Pantelis Christofides, CELIS Country Reporter for Cyprus,  report on the current state of play of the process on legislation to screen foreign direct investment in Cyprus.      

EU – European Commission publishes Second Annual Report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union On 1 September 2022, the European Commission (EC) published the Second Annual Report on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investment into the Union. The report contains besides the most recent data on foreign direct investment inflows into…

Czechia – First Annual Report on Foreign Direct Investments Screening in the Czech Republic On 1 August 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic published the first Annual Report on Foreign Investments Screening in the Czech Republic. The report provides some interesting insights on the FDI Act that has been in effect for one…

Yesterday, on 1st September 2022, the Second Annual Report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union has been published by the European Commission (EC). The report contains besides the most recent data on foreign direct investment inflows into the EU mainly an overview of the legislative developments and activities in the Member…

In light with the CELIS Institute’s mission to promote better regulation of foreign investments in the context of security, public order, and competitiveness, its Directors are pleased to announce the creation of an early-career scholars’ and practitioners’ network on the law and practice of economic warfare (CELIS NOW). The network will be coordinated by the new…

Belgium – Introduction of a general FDI regime The next EU member state is about to implement the EU Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regulation and to present its first FDI regime. On 1 June 2022, the federal and regional governments of Belgium agreed on a draft legislative text that will introduce a mandatory FDI regime…

EU – Commission singles out “hostile investors” As a reaction of the war against Ukraine, for the first time ever, the European Commission has taken the step of singling out two hostile investor countries for Member States to consider in applying foreign direct investment (“FDI”) screening laws. In its communication from 6 April 2022 the Commission…

Phil Baumann, CELIS Country Reporter for Switzerland, briefly reports on the initiation of the consultation process on legislation to screen foreign direct investment by the Swiss Federal Council.

We are pleased to announce that our CELIS Patron and key sponsor for the CFIS 2022, the Swedish Institute of International Law (SIFIR), an institute at Uppsala University which pursues a number of activities in order to promote the study of public international law and makes its endeavours known through its publication series, granted two…

Andrea Sacco Ginevri, CELIS Country Reporter for Italy, Federico Riganti, CELIS Assistant Country Reporter for Italy, and Linda Lorenzon, CELIS Assistant Country Reporter for Italy, shortly brief us on the latest amendments of the Italian “golden powers” regulations.

Today, on 10 May 2022, the CELIS Institute is delighted to announce the agreement with the Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis”, an institute at Skopje which pursues the work on a balanced socio-economic development, active citizenship and participative political culture, to serve as a CELIS Patron and key sponsor for the CELIS Forum on Investment Screening. The…

Today, on 3 April 2022, the CELIS Institute is delighted to announce the agreement with the Swedish Institute of International Law (SIFIR), an institute at Uppsala University which pursues a number of activities in order to promote the study of public international law and makes its endeavours known through its publication series, to serve as a…

Annual Call for Expression of Interest 2022  CELIS Country Reporters on Foreign Investment Regulation, especially Investment Screening The CELIS Institute announces the opening of number of positions as CELIS Country Reporter and CELIS Assistant Country Reporter (m/f/d) which will contribute to the Institute’s Knowledge and Research Hub at www.celis.institute. We are particularly interested in applications…

Today, on 28 February 2022, the CELIS Institute’s Co-Directors Steffen Hindelang and J. Hillebrand Pohl are extremely delighted to announce that their joint interdisciplinary research project “The Emerging Law of Investment Control in Europe: Screening, Sanctions and Subsidies” has been awarded a very generous financial contribution by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond for the purpose of organising an…

EU – Commission proposes European Chips Act On 8 February 2022, the European Commission published multiple documents relating to the Proposal for a Regulation establishing a framework of measures for strengthening Europe’s semiconductor ecosystem (European Chips Act). Due to their importance in the production of many goods in the technology sector, such as cars or…

Today, on 26 February 2022, the CELIS Institute is delighted to announce the agreement with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), a business-oriented NGO working at the intersection of economic development and entrepreneurship with democracy and good governance, to serve as a CELIS Patron and key sponsor for the CELIS Forum on Investment Screening. The CELIS…

Wessel Geursen, CELIS Country Reporter for the Netherlands, examines the interaction between national investment screening legislation on the one hand and EU law on the other. He focuses on the possible tension between the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR) and free movement provisions in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The University of Passau, Germany, and the University of Uppsala, Sweden, in cooperation with the CELIS Institute, Berlin, jointly organize a seminar for graduate and postgraduate students as well as post-docs working on topics related to investment control.

Germany – Second Amendment to Ordinance on the Designation of Critical Infrastructures enters into force and will cause more FDI Screening On 1 January 2022, the second amendment to the Ordinance on the Designation of Critical Infrastructures (“BSI-KritisV”) entered into force. The amendment constitutes an overhaul of the ordinance, which significantly lowers the thresholds that…

Andrea Sacco Ginevri, CELIS Country Reporter for Italy, and Federico Riganti, CELIS Assistant Country Reporter for Italy, shortly brief us on the extension of certain restrictions on FDI in Italy.

UK – Further secondary legislation intended to clarify certain aspects under the National Security and Investment Act published On 16 November 2021, the government published further secondary legislation to clarify certain aspects under the National Security and Investment Act, the latter entering into force on 4 January 2022. The secondary legislation sets out the acquisitions…

Today, on 27 December 2021, the CELIS Institute is delighted to announce the agreement with BLOMSTEIN, a boutique law firm for international trade, antitrust, and public procurement law based in Berlin, to serve as a CELIS Patron and key sponsor for the CELIS Forum on Investment Screening, the flagship event of the CELIS Institute, which will take…

Today, on 17 December 2021, the CELIS Institute is delighted to announce the agreement with Datenna, an intelligence platform providing information to solve information imbalances with China, to serve as a CELIS Patron and key sponsor for the CELIS Forum on Investment Screening, the flagship event of the CELIS Institute, which will take place in Uppsala…

Today, on 3 December 2021, the Commission delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2126 of 29 September 2021 has been published. It amends the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2019/452, commonly known as the “EU-FDI Screening Regulation”. The amendments concern the list of projects or programmes of Union interest under Art. 8 of the EU-FDI Screening Regulation. Under this…

Yesterday, on 23 November 2021, the European Commission (EC) published the long-awaited Annual Report on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investment. In addition to data on foreign direct investment flows in the EU, the report mainly contains an overview of legislative developments in the area of investment screening in the Member States and their investment…

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…

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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)…