CELIS-Blog
Conference on Investment Screening in Austria
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…
Read More ...CFIUS should steel itself from domestic presidential politics. On Biden’s public intervention on the Nippon Steel-US Steel Acquisition
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…
Read More ...Corporate Sustainability in the EU and the Obstacle Race to Eliminate Products of Forced Labour: a Pyrrhic Victory?
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…
Read More ...Ties that bind: A Transatlantic approach to investment screening and economic security
Washington, D.C., 05.07.2024 – Today, the CELIS Institute, in collaboration with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), hosted a key event, focusing on investment screening and national security issues across the US and EU. This high-level conference, aimed at reinforcing transatlantic economic security ties, brought together government officials, business leaders, and experts from finance,…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening – April 2024
United Kingdom – Response of the UK Government to the Cabinet Office’s ‘call for evidence’ The UK Government published its response to the Cabinet Office’s ‘call for evidence’ on the National Security and Investment Act 2021 in April 2024. The UK’s new National Security and Investment Act (NSI) came into force on 4 January 2022,…
Read More ...UK investment screening: Government confirms commitment to a more pro-investment approach and sets out next steps
By Veronica Roberts and Ruth Allen, Herbert Smith Freehills LLP On 18 April 2024 the UK Government published its response to feedback from stakeholders on the operation of the UK National Security and Investment (NSI) regime since it entered into force in January 2022, gathered via a Call for Evidence issued in November 2023 (see our…
Read More ...The EU Economic Security Strategy: a Novel Approach or the Reemergence of an Old Idea?
[This blog post summarizes the following article: A. Lymperopoulos, ‘The EU Economic Security Strategy: a Novel Approach or the Reemergence of an Old Idea?’ (2024) 1 European State Aid Law Quarterly 40.] 1. What is Economic Security? The recent Economic Security Strategy (Strategy) of the European Commission (EC) introduces a new dogma in the trade…
Read More ...KlimaSeniorinnen: how did the ECtHR define States’ climate policy obligations?
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,…
Read More ...Introducing CELIS Pathway Training and CELIS Institute Membership
Steffen Hindelang, Roland Stein and Andrea Berger Athens Read in this Blog Post about two of the Institute’s latest projects: (1) We have recently launched the unique CELIS European Investment Screening Pathway Training. This series of courses is specifically designed for professionals who want to navigate the increasingly complex landscape of investment screening in…
Read More ...The Role of US Investments for EU Technology Sovereignty
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…
Read More ...What Role For Indonesian State-Owned Enterprises After The Presidential Elections?
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,…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening – March 2024
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Read More ...Strengthening the Biting Effect of EU Restrictive Measures Via Criminal Law – Some Critical Remarks
By Lorenzo Bernardini, University of Luxembourg This blog post summarizes some insights that are detailed in a forthcoming contribution to issue 1/2024 of the European Criminal Law Review (EuCLR). The author would like to express his heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Iryna Bogdanova for her kind invitation to contribute to the CELIS Blog. 1.…
Read More ...Investment Screening in the UK under the 2021 National Security and Investment Act
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…
Read More ...The Politization of Trade Defence Instruments
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”)…
Read More ...The New Significant Investments Review Act of Singapore – Some Insights and Lessons for Europe
By Philipp Reinhold, Saarland University Singapore is known for a legal framework and public policies which are generally favourable towards foreign investors.[1] The country is one of the most open economies in the world. For 2023 as a whole, net inflows of direct investment rose by S$17.6 billion (around US$13 billion) to S$151 billion…
Read More ...CELIS Update on Investment Screening – February 2024
Ireland – Draft Guidance and Notification Form on the Irish Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023 On 16 February 2024, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment published the Draft Guidance on the Irish Screening of Third Country Transactions Act 2023, as well as a Draft Notification Form. The regime is expected to enter…
Read More ...CELIS Announcement: CFIS 24 Save-the-date & More Exciting News
Dear CELIS Community, We would like to share with you some exciting news and updates around the CELIS Institute. The date and venue for CFIS 24 have been confirmed (I.), and in preparation for the conference we are looking for master and PhD students to join the orga team as Conference Sherpas (II.). We are…
Read More ...The Quest for Policy Coherence between Competition Law and Foreign Investment Screening in the EU: Consistency or Disruption?
By Pietro Chiarelli, European Central Bank Disclaimer: This blog post was prepared by the author in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in the blog post are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of the ECB. Introduction Foreign investment and competition are no strangers to one another. While the former is a…
Read More ...Digital Trade And Investment Screening: Friends Or Foes?
By Murilo Lubambo, University College London Entry of Foreign Investments and Digital Trade This blog post discusses how investment screening activities by states may have an impact on digital trade. In other words, to what extent does investment screening constitute a restriction that affects the integration of digital trade between countries on a global basis? …
Read More ...Austria – The Investment Control “Powerhouse”
By Dr. Regina Kröll and Dr. Johannes Barbist, Binder Grösswang Disclaimer: This post was first published on the Binder Grösswang Law Blog On 25 July 2020, the Austrian Investment Control Act (Investitionskontrollgesetz – ICA) entered into force and started a new era of foreign direct investment (FDI) screening in Austria. This report aims at providing…
Read More ...The notion of “security” in foreign trade law – Theory and Practice
By Dr. Carsten Bormann, Oppenhoff & Partner* 1. Introduction: All about security? The screening of foreign direct investment has gradually evolved from the traditional protection of vital national security interests through the prevention of outsourcing and the drain of specialized technological capabilities to the protection of geostrategic interests and the enforcement of industrial strategies. The…
Read More ...The EU Anti-Coercion Instrument: Anti-What, Exactly?
By Johannes Schäffer, Berlin School of Economics and Law* In February 2021, the Commission acknowledged the concerns of the Parliament and Member States regarding coercive practices by “certain third countries”. Having identified a regulatory gap, it committed to “examine a possible instrument, which could be adopted in order to dissuade or offset coercive actions by…
Read More ...Chinese Investments in the EU, National Security, and Investor-State Arbitration
By Dr. Szilárd Gáspár-Szilágyi, Birmingham University School of Law Disclaimer: This blogpost is based on a recent publication by the author in the Journal of International Dispute Settlement (Oxford University Press), entitled ‘When the Dragon Comes Home to Roost. Chinese Investments in the EU, National Security, and Investor-State Arbitration.’ The data for the publication was…
Read More ...Janus-Faced Competition Policy: For or Against FDI?
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,…
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