KlimaSeniorinnen: how did the ECtHR define States’ climate policy obligations?

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

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,…

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The Role of US Investments for EU Technology Sovereignty

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

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…

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What Role For Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises After The Presidential Elections?

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

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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Investment Screening in the UK under the 2021 National Security and Investment Act

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Agata Daszko, University of Göttingen   In recent years the United Kingdom (UK) has joined many States in updating its legislation concerning scrutiny of national security issues when it comes to investments made in key or sensitive sectors. Indeed, the UK’s approach to investment screening underwent a significant transformation with the introduction of the…

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The Politization of Trade Defence Instruments

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Victor Crochet and Weihuan Zhou   Trade defence instruments used to be described as dull and technical, of little interest except as a money maker for a handful of trade lawyers in Washington, Brussels and other administrative capitals. There are two main trade defence instruments aimed at protecting Members of the World Trade Organization (“WTO”)…

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Digital Trade And Investment Screening: Friends Or Foes?

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Murilo Lubambo, University College London Entry of Foreign Investments and Digital Trade  This blog post discusses how investment screening activities by states may have an impact on digital trade. In other words, to what extent does investment screening constitute a restriction that affects the integration of digital trade between countries on a global basis? …

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Austria – The Investment Control “Powerhouse”

By Dr. Regina Kröll and Dr. Johannes Barbist, Binder Grösswang Disclaimer: This post was first published on the Binder Grösswang Law Blog On 25 July 2020, the Austrian Investment Control Act (Investitionskontrollgesetz – ICA) entered into force and started a new era of foreign direct investment (FDI) screening in Austria. This report aims at providing…

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The notion of “security” in foreign trade law – Theory and Practice

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Dr. Carsten Bormann, Oppenhoff & Partner* 1. Introduction: All about security? The screening of foreign direct investment has gradually evolved from the traditional protection of vital national security interests through the prevention of outsourcing and the drain of specialized technological capabilities to the protection of geostrategic interests and the enforcement of industrial strategies. The…

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Chinese Investments in the EU, National Security, and Investor-State Arbitration

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Dr. Szilárd Gáspár-Szilágyi, Birmingham University School of Law Disclaimer: This blogpost is based on a recent publication by the author in the Journal of International Dispute Settlement (Oxford University Press), entitled ‘When the Dragon Comes Home to Roost. Chinese Investments in the EU, National Security, and Investor-State Arbitration.’ The data for the publication was…

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Janus-Faced Competition Policy: For or Against FDI?

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

By Sergio Mariotti, Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy  Scenario The dark side of globalisation has become visible in recent years, unfolding a series of toxic effects: uneven development among countries and regions of the world; imbalances and instability in the global order; social inequalities among peoples; and economic,…

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FDI Screening Regulation 2.0: Towards Greater Regulatory Convergence?

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

By Sophie Bohnert, Vienna University of Economics and Business/College of Europe Background The current Regulation on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investment into the Union (the “FDI Screening Regulation” or the “Regulation”) has sometimes been described as a first step towards a more comprehensive Europeanisation of investment control legislation and possibly even a supranationalisation of…

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CELIS Webinar on the new EU Economic Security Package

The EU Commission's Economic Security Package: Scale Up and Revamp

On February 8, 2024, CELIS will host a lunchtime webinar on the new EU Economic Security Package. Following our last lunchtime webinar on the Xella judgment, this time we will discuss the new EU Economic Security Package with renowned expert. Moderated again by Jonas Fechter and Janosch Wiesenthal, the package will be discussed by Christian…

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The EU Commission’s Economic Security Package: Scale Up and Revamp

The EU Commission's Economic Security Package: Scale Up and Revamp

By Sophie Bohnert, Vienna University of Economics and Business/College of Europe and Kilian Wagner, University of Vienna  Introduction: Long Awaited, Much Longed-For!  Over the past six months, the EC has been gradually releasing bits and pieces of information about possible initiatives to scale up and revamp the EU’s foreign trade and investment policy toolbox, creating…

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Foreign direct investment screening in the EU: time to address weaknesses

Mihails Kozlovs

By Mihails Kozlovs, Member of the European Court of Auditors, Dean of Chamber IV – Regulation of markets and competitive economy Introduction The European Court of Auditors (ECA) in its role as the European Union’s (EU) external auditor audits not only the implementation of the EU budget, but also assesses the economy, effectiveness, and efficiency of…

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Outbound Investment Screening

CELIS Update on Investment Screening – May 2023

By Dr. Leonard von Rummel, BLOMSTEIN   With the “Executive Order on Addressing United States Investments In Certain National Security Technologies and Products In Countries Of Concern“, the USA has drafted a regulation for outbound investment control. This article deals with the question of whether a comparable project could also be transferred to Europe or…

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