The Belgian Government implements a new uniform Foreign Direct Investment screening mechanism which imposes pre-closing filing requirements on non-EU investments into various industry sectors in Belgium

In Short The Development: The new Belgian foreign direct investment screening law ("FDI Regime") imposes preclosing filing requirements on non-EU investments into various industry sectors in Belgium, including energy, electronic communication, tech, and defense. The Background: Belgium joins a growing number of European Union ("EU") countries with broad FDI regimes, adding another layer of complexity to multijurisdictional deals. Within the Benelux region, a new FDI regime went into effect in June 2023 in the Netherlands, and Luxembourg's is expected to take effect on September 1, 2023. Looking Ahead: Buyers considering investments in Belgian targets must evaluate whether the mandatory filing regime covers the transaction. If so, the parties must suspend closing until members of the