Marking a New Investment Era in Sweden: The Upcoming Swedish FDI Regime

CELIS Update on Investment Screening – May 2022

By Pouya Ghotbi, Wistrand Advokatbyrå    Background In 1916, the Swedish government introduced a piece of legislation restricting the right of foreigners to invest in Sweden. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the legislation was further tightened, making it difficult for foreigners to acquire businesses in Sweden without government scrutiny. The Act was abolished 1991,…

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Taking due process seriously – The Administrative Court of Berlin doubles down on FDI procedural rules

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By Jonas Fechter, University of Münster / CELIS Deputy Assistant Director    I. Introduction Investment screening is infamous for the low number of judicial proceedings that have challenged the legality of the prohibition and mitigation measures imposed by governments. As a result, there is, as yet, no strong body of case law clarifying how investment screening…

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Country Note Serbia 2023

Country Note Norway 2023

CELIS Country Note on Serbia, 2023 by Luka Marosiuk Date of Publication: 25 October 2023 The Republic of Serbia promotes itself as an open country and tries to attract as much foreign investments as possible, from various sources and in various fields. In the last year (2022), the Republic of Serbia attracted numerous foreign direct…

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Country Note Belgium 2023

Country Note Norway 2023

CELIS Country Note on Belgium, 2023 by Thijs de Cuyper Date of Publication: 25 October 2023 The Belgian cross-sectoral Investment Screening Mechanism (ISM) has recently entered into force. The objective of this mechanism is to identify and mitigate risks related to Foreign Direct Investments in Belgian critical infrastructure and strategic assets. The journey towards creating…

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Country Note Norway 2023

Country Note Norway 2023

CELIS Country Note on Norway, 2023 by Charlotte Hafstad Date of Publication: 25 October 2023 Since 1 January 2019, investments in Norwegian companies that are subject to the Security Act, have been screened by Norwegian authorities. The screening provisions of Chapter 10 in the Security Act have recently been amended, though they has not entered…

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Evaluation Report on Amendments to the German Investment Screening Mechanism

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By Jonas Fechter, University of Münster / CELIS Deputy Assistant Director   I. Legislative changes and reporting duties Over the past couple of years, investment screening has become a central legislative instrument for promoting security and public order in many Western countries. When Germany first introduced its two-tier screening system in 2004 (military sector) and…

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The ECJ’s Judgment in Xella – Judicial Cherry Picking?

CELIS Update on Investment Screening – May 2023

By Alexia Crivoi, Vienna University of Economics and Business   Introduction In the much-discussed Xella judgment of July 13 2023, the Court of Justice decided two things: that the scope of the EU FDI Screening Regulation does not extend to ‘indirect FDI’, rejecting arguments relating to the company structure of an EU-based but foreign-owned investor…

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Country Note Poland 2023

Country Note Poland 2023

CELIS Country Note on Poland, 2023 by Maria Kalinowska and Marek Jaśkowski Date of Publication: 14 August 2023 The Note contains basic information on the political background of FDI screening in Poland, the Polish FDI screening mechanism and framework, including protected entities, grounds for issuing objection against a planned investment, and the procedure. A noteworthy…

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Country Note Bulgaria 2023

Country Note Bulgaria 2023

CELIS Country Note on Bulgaria, 2023 by Iliana Boycheva Date of Publication: 14 August 2023 Bulgaria has taken some steps to ensure compliance with the EU’s FDI Regulation. An analysis of the legislation in Bulgaria shows that there are laws that provide for screening-like elements for foreign investments/investors. However, the country is one of the…

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National Interest and Freedom of Establishment: The CJEU’s Judgment in Xella

CELIS Update on Investment Screening – June 2023

By Bálint Kovács In its judgment[1] published on 13 July 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that Hungary’s decision to prohibit an investment by a foreign-owned Hungarian company aiming to acquire a Hungarian company violated the freedom of establishment. The prohibition involved the use of the novel foreign direct investment…

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