CELIS-Blog
CELIS German Chapter Round Table in Berlin – 27th May 2025
CELIS German Chapter, BLOMSTEIN and Dentons jointly organize an economic policy Round Table on 27th May (17:00-19:00) in Berlin to discuss the impact of trade policy measures on investment decisions. In particular, the debate will focus on how new and complex trade policy measures on both sides of the Atlantic and their embedding in questions…
Read More ...Behind the Scenes of the First Czech FDI Screening Prohibition
Jan Kupčík The Scenes The Czech FDI screening regime has been in effect since May 2021. Until recently, it had been flying pretty much under the radar due to a number of factors, in particular because of its quite narrow scope in terms of mandatory filings. We had dozens of cases, the majority of…
Read More ...Conference Report: BDI/CELIS German Chapter – Investment Screening Conference
Kilian Wagner From 27th to 28th March, the BDI and CELIS German Chapter organized the second joint conference on investment screening in Berlin. The conference took place against the backdrop of a rapidly changing geopolitical environment since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Only a few days earlier, the US administration had unexpectedly announced…
Read More ...Geopolitical Challenges Beyond the European Union: The Evolution of FDI Screening Mechanisms and the Quest for European Security
Federica Marconi* In recent years, the European Union (EU) has been confronted with a series of unprecedented global crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war. These events have had a profound impact on the geopolitical and geo-economic landscapes. Concurrently, the rapid advancement of technology has increased global interconnectedness, thereby blurring the lines between…
Read More ...ReArm Europe – the Big Bang?
Mats Cuvelier – Associate at White & Case Introduction In the wake of the United States suspending military aid to Ukraine after an infamous meeting at the White House, EU leaders convened at an emergency summit and agreed that “Europe must become more sovereign, more responsible for its own defence and better equipped to act…
Read More ...Russian Investments and Corporate Relocation: Economic Strategy or Threat to Democracies
By Davit Maisuradze and Zurab Gvelesiani, Structural Reforms Center (SRC) All Eyes on Ukraine and Quiet Capture of Georgia While the global community is fixated on Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine, a parallel but less visible development has been unfolding in the region. Russia has quietly seized control over Georgia, effectively stalling its Europeanization…
Read More ...Trump Administration Signals Material Updates to CFIUS and Outbound Investment Regulations
By Adam M. Smith, Stephenie Gosnell Handler, David Wolber, Michelle Weinbaum, Dharak Bhavsar, and Chris Mullen. On February 21, 2025, the White House issued a National Security Presidential Memorandum titled the “America First Investment Policy” (the “America First Investment memo”) and accompanying fact sheet (Fact Sheet) proposing material changes to the U.S. foreign direct…
Read More ...The First Annual Report on Dual-Use Export Controls
By Kwinten Dewaele, Research Affiliate at KU Leuven (Institute for Contract Law) Introduction Article 26 of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 (“the Regulation”) obliges the European Commission to publish an annual report on the implementation of the Regulation and the activities of the Dual-Use Coordination Group (DUCG). Similar obligations related to FDI screening exist (see Article…
Read More ...Transatlantic Insecurity: Revaluation of Economic Security Policy’s Business Impacts Amid US-European Turbulence
By John Kay* The recent foreign policy shifts in Washington have triggered a radical reassessment of the U.S.-European relationship, creating an evolving landscape that the transatlantic business community must closely monitor. U.S. investments in the EU are valued at approximately $3.95 trillion, and the two economies have the world’s largest trade and investment relationship.…
Read More ...The Application of Italian FDI Law to the Creation of Pledges: Monitoring the Reasonable Management of the Company.
by Andrea Gemmi, Associate, BonelliErede; PhD Candidate, University of Padova and Luca Perfetti, Partner, BonelliErede; Full Professor, Pegaso University The article illustrates how the use of vague and indeterminate clauses in the Italian FDI screening law grounds an expansive and unpredictable practice by the FDI authority. In particular, the article addresses the example of…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening and Economic Security – February 2025
by Helene Schramm with the help of intern Surbhi Gupta INVESTMENT SCREENING MECHANISMS European Union – European Economic Area’s Standing Committee of the EFTA States comments on the Proposal for a regulation on the screening of foreign investments in the Union On 25 February 2025, the European Economic Area (EEA) European Free Trade Association…
Read More ...The EU’s Evolving Approach to Open Strategic Autonomy: a Critical Perspective on the Competitiveness Compass for the EU and Other Recent Policy Developments
By Professor Sergio Mariotti, Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano Open Strategic Autonomy (OSA) has emerged as a defining concept in the evolution of European policy, shaped by an increasingly complex economic and geopolitical landscape. Two key dimensions stand out: (i) the central role of industrial policy and (ii) the integration of…
Read More ...Investment Screening-Konferenz von BDI und CELIS German Chapter
Globalisation appears to be more and more exhausted. World trade as a guarantor for prosperity and growth remains closely linked to questions of defence and national security. Particularly in the systems competition between the USA and China, more intensive investment controls at home and abroad are becoming a central political issue. For companies, investment controls…
Read More ...Investment Screening in the Netherlands: Proposed Expansion and Insights into Council Negotiations
By Jochem de Kok, Senior Associate, A&O Shearman Overview The Dutch Government has proposed an expansion of the investment screening regime. The expansion introduces a mandatory screening requirement for certain investments in artificial intelligence, advanced materials, nanotechnology, sensor and navigation technology, biotechnology, and nuclear technology for medical use (the Dutch Proposal). The Dutch Proposal aligns…
Read More ...Book Launch: The Age of Open Strategic Autonomy
The CELIS Institute proudly announces the lauch of the conference volume “The Age of Open Strategic Autonomy” by Jonas Fechter and Janosch Wiesenthal (CELIS Institute Deputy Assistant Directors and Blog Editors). In order to overcome the geo-economic challenges of the present, the European Union has developed the concept of Open Strategic Autonomy, which aims in…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening and Economic Security – January 2025
by Helene Schramm with the help of intern Surbhi Gupta ECONOMIC SECURITY STRATEGIES European Union – Commission Recommendation calling on EU Member States to review outbound investments into non EU-countries As Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) regimes have expanded globally in recent years, concerns have also risen about the economic security risks posed by…
Read More ...Romania’s strategic energy independence: a turning point in FDI Screening
By Raluca Maxim, Senior Associate, 360Competition “Energy blackmail must remain a sad memory of the past.” With this statement, Romania’s Ministry of Energy underscored its resolve to safeguard national and European energy security in flagging MVM Group’s proposed acquisition of E.ON Energie Romania’s gas and electricity supply division before the Commission for the Examination of…
Read More ...Empowering the Forgotten: Competitors’ Rights and Remedies under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation
By Alessandro Carpi, Associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP (Brussels) The Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) is a new instrument adopted to protect the internal market from the distortive effects of public intervention. While the FSR resembles existing competition and trade tools, it differs notably in how it addresses complaints from competitors. Indeed, the…
Read More ...Latest Trends in Czech FDI Screening
By Jan Kupčík, Head of Competition, Foreign Trade & EU, Schoenherr Czech Republic The Czech Republic’s FDI screening regime has been in place since 2021. While the screenings remain fully confidential, annual reports of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) allow us to deduct some of the enforcement trends and structure of cases that…
Read More ...An overview of the U.S. outbound screening program and considerations for private and public actors
By John Kabealo, Founding Partner, Kabealo PLLC On October 28, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury finalized its highly anticipated regulations to implement Executive Order 14105, Regulating outbound U.S. investments in countries and sectors that may pose national security concerns for the United States. The regulations finalize the draft regulations published June 21, 2024…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening – December 2024
European Union – European Commission refers the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice of the European Union for failure to terminate intra-EU BITs On 16 December 2024, the European Commission decided to refer the United Kingdom to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for failing to terminate its Bilateral Investment Treaties…
Read More ...2024 Year-in-Review I Holiday Break
By Kilian Wagner (CELIS Blog Editor, University of Vienna) I. 2024 – Economic Security Developments in Review With a busy year coming to an end, it is time to take stock of the main developments in the area of economic security from an EU perspective. A number of new policy initiatives have been launched in…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening – November 2024
Global – Publication of 31st UNCTAD-OECD Report on G20 Investment Measures On 13 November 2024, the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released the 31st Report on G20 Investment Measures (“Report”). The Report documents measures taken by the G20 governments between 16 October 2023 and 15…
Read More ...The Foreign Subsidies Regulation – One Year in Review: Challenges and Ways Ahead
By Cécile Carlier (Simmons & Simmons) and Pierfrancesco Mattiolo (University of Antwerp) An expert panel session convened in Brussels on 20th November 2024 to discuss the notification-based procedures of the FSR. Adopted in November 2022, the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR) is the latest arrival in the EU competition toolbox. Having just celebrated its second…
Read More ...First Day in Court for the EU’s Defence Industrial Policy
By Mats Cuvelier Introduction On 18 September 2024, the General Court rendered its judgment in Case T-617/22, concerning French aicraft engine maker Safran’s request to annul a decision by which the European Commission rejected its bid to carry out a project under the European Defence Fund (EDF). It is the first time the Court has…
Read More ...