Balancing Security and Economics: The EU Investment Screening Mechanism

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

By Floor Doppen (University of Antwerp), Antonio Calcara (Vrije Universiteit Brussels) and Dirk De Bièvre (University of Antwerp) In the EU, Member States and the Commission are increasingly turning to trade and investment tools to address national security issues. In the face of concerns over technology leakage, supply chain resilience, dependencies in critical industries, data…

Read More ...

The European Commission’s Fourth Annual Report on FDI Screening

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

By Sophie Bohnert, CELIS Blog A. Introduction This October is the month of investment screening. Not only did CFIS 2024, hosted by the CELIS Institute and convened by Steffen Hindelang and Roland Stein, take place in Paris (France) from 16 to 18 October 2024. It is also the month in which the European Commission (“EC”)…

Read More ...

CFIS 24: Paris Insights – Securing Europe’s Future: Investment Screening and Economic Security in the Context of EU Enlargement

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

A Note from the Editors The CELIS Blog is launching its very first special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS).  Our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and practitioners in the field, share their views on the topics we will be discussing in the various panels during CFIS.…

Read More ...

CFIS 24: Paris Insights – Preserving the Battlefield Gap in the Area of Technology: Between Export Control and Outbound Investment Screening 

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

A Note from the Editors The CELIS Blog is launching its very first special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS).  Our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and practitioners in the field, share their views on the topics we will be discussing in the various panels during CFIS.…

Read More ...

CFIS 2024: Issue Notes (Part 2/2)

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

A Note from the Editors The CELIS Blog is launching its second special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS). The Issue Note series provides analyses which are published to elicit comment and to further debate. The series is written by our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and…

Read More ...

CFIS 2024: Issue Notes (Part 1/2)

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

A Note from the Editors The CELIS Blog is launching its second special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS). The Issue Note series provides analyses which are published to elicit comment and to further debate. The series is written by our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and…

Read More ...

Towards a centralisation of FDI screening in the EU? On the functioning and effects of the cooperation mechanism in the Commission’s proposal for a revised screening regulation

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

By Steffen Hindelang and Jan Philipp Huth[i] A.   Introduction To those arguing, before the backdrop of increasing geopolitical tension, in favour of a security-oriented European industrial policy, it may seem like a relic of bygone times. However, Art. 63 para. 1 TFEU – still – provides for free movement of capital between the EU and…

Read More ...

CFIS 24: Paris Insights – The Current Global Regulatory & Investment Environment: The OECD Countries’ Perspective on Economic Security

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

The CELIS Blog is launching its very first special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS).  Our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and practitioners in the field, share their views on the topics we will be discussing in the various panels during CFIS. CFIS is the flagship event…

Read More ...

The ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’ (PAFACAA): ‘TikTok Ban’ or New Milestone in US Economic Security Law?

By Paolo Mazzotti, PhD candidate and Research Fellow, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (Heidelberg) The recently adopted ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’ (PAFACAA) marks a new step in the evolution of US economic security law. While often referred to as a ‘TikTok ban’, PAFACAA puts in place…

Read More ...

CFIS 24: Paris Insights – FDI and EU Strategic Autonomy

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - November 2023

The CELIS Blog is launching its very first special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS).  Our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and practitioners in the field, share their views on the topics we will be discussing in the various panels during CFIS. CFIS is the flagship event…

Read More ...

CFIS 24: Paris Insights – Sovereign Wealth Funds and Investment Screening

Simon Shargi-Erdmosa

The CELIS Blog is launching its very first special series of blog posts ahead of this year’s CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS).  Our Programme Sherpas, promising young academics and practitioners in the field, share their views on the topics we will be discussing in the various panels during CFIS. CFIS is the flagship event…

Read More ...

The First Court (Interim Reliefs) Decision on the Dutch FDI Screening Regime: Setting the Boundaries

Najibullah Zamani

By Najibullah Zamani, Radboud University Introduction In recent years, mostly due to geopolitical developments, the perception of FDI by states has changed fundamentally. FDI is used increasingly as a tool to pursue geopolitical and security interests rather than as an objective in itself. As a consequence of this geo-politicization and securitization of FDI, more and…

Read More ...

The U.S. Prohibition of the MineOne-Acquisition: What would be the treatment under EU and German Foreign Direct Investment Legislation?

Benedikt Sichla

By Benedikt Sichla, Research assistant at Clifford Chance  1. Introduction On May 13, 2024, President Biden issued an order prohibiting for national security reasons the acquisition of real estate and the operation of a cryptocurrency mining facility in close proximity to a U.S. Air Force base. The foreign ownership of the acquirer by nationals of…

Read More ...

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,…

Read More ...

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…

Read More ...

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…

Read More ...

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…

Read More ...

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…

Read More ...