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…

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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”)…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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Updated guidance on the UK’s investment screening regime: key takeaways

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Veronica Roberts, Andre Pretorius and Ruth Allen, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP   On 21 May 2024 the UK Government published updated versions of two key documents for investors seeking to assess how the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) screening regime may apply to a proposed transaction: an updated statement on how the Secretary…

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Foreign Direct Investment in Thailand

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Lukas Baumgärtner, Mag. Iur, LL.M., Attorney at Law at Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft (Bangkok and Yangon)   I. INTRODUCTION Thailand has demonstrated a significant trajectory of economic development over recent decades, with foreign direct investment (ʺFDIʺ) being an important contributor to this success. FDI inflows stood at USD 10 billion in 2022, down by 31.5% compared…

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The First Court Decision on the Austrian FDI Screening Regime

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By  Dr. Johannes Barbist,  Binder Grösswang   I. Introduction A regular CELIS blog reader will know already: Austria is at the forefront of EU jurisdictions when it comes to FDI filings submitted to the EU cooperation mechanism (counted by population, see here for a compilation of the data). However, until very recently there were no…

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Conference on Investment Screening in Austria

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

On Thursday, 13. June 2024, the second edition of the annual conference on investment screening in Austria and the EU will take place at the University of Vienna. The aim is to convene experts from academia and legal practice to discuss topical issues of investment screening and further legal initiatives designed to strengthen the EU’s open…

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CFIUS should steel itself from domestic presidential politics. On Biden’s public intervention on the Nippon Steel-US Steel Acquisition

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Thomas P. Feddo, founder of The Rubicon Advisors LLC and former Assistant Treasury Secretary for Investment Security (2019-2021)   This blogpost elaborates on the opinion piece ‘Biden, CFIUS and the US Steel Acquisition’ authored by Feddo and published on the Wall Street Journal (15 April 2024)   In December 2023, Nippon Steel and US…

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Corporate Sustainability in the EU and the Obstacle Race to Eliminate Products of Forced Labour: a Pyrrhic Victory?

CELIS Update on Investment Screening - December 2023

By Nicola Mongelli, LL.M (University of Antwerp) Introduction On the 23rd of April 2024, the European Parliament (EP), concluded the first reading of the text of the upcoming Regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market. This contribution will comment on the Regulation on Products of Forced Labour (PFL Regulation), addressing some…

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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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