The EU Parliament publishes the foreign direct investment screening regulation

Federle, Anne

Previous article The EU Parliament and Council enact a regulation establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the EU Next article The Chinese National People’s Congress adopts a foreign investment law providing stronger protection and a better business environment for foreign investors

19 Mar 2019

The EU Parliament publishes the foreign direct investment screening regulation

KEYWORDS

Reference

EU Parliament, Establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union, 2019/452, 19 March 2019

In the autumn of next year, the long anticipated EU Foreign Direct Investment Screening Regulation (FDIR) will apply. While the FDIR does not establish a European equivalent of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), it is nonetheless likely to have a significant impact on FDI within the EU – both in Member States that already have their own screening mechanisms and those which do not. Non-EU investors take note: the FDIR creates significant risks, and perhaps also a few opportunities. 1. THE CONTOURS OF THE EU FDI SCREENING FRAMEWORK The FDIR has three main components: (i) it introduces a set of minimum requirements for Member State screening mechanisms, (ii) it introduces a form of peer-review amongst Member States and the European Commission (the