| Online |
4 Half-Days | 8 In-Depth Workshops
Expert speakers from various Governments, the EU, OECD, Businesses, Law Firms, and Academia
About CELIS Virtual Symposium 2021
The CELIS Virtual Symposium runs:
02 Dec 2021 (2pm-6.30pm CET) to 03 Dec 2021 (2pm-6.30pm CET) (Open free of charge for CELIS Fellows with prior registration – otherwise by invitation only, please also register) and 06 Dec 2021 (2pm-6.30pm CET) to 07 Dec 2021 (2pm-6.30pm CET) (By invitation only; please also register).
The CELIS Virtual Symposium 2021 serves three purposes:
- exchange of opinion for purposes of identifying the scope for convergence in official practices in investment screening, and
- preparation of the CELIS Forum 2022 Warsaw
- Kick-off meeting for the CELIS Board of Country Reporters
The CELIS Virtual Symposium 2021 is hosted by Steffen Hindelang (UU/SDU) and Jens Hillebrand Pohl (UM)
Agenda at a Glance
Thursday, 2 December 2021
14:00 – 14:05 CET Introductory Remarks
Steffen Hindelang (Uppsala University); Jens Hillebrand Pohl (Maastricht University)
14:05 – 14:15 CET Opening Address
Daniel Fiott (European Union Institute for Security Studies)
14:15 – 14:45 CET Keynote: European Commission’s First Annual Report on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments Into the Union
Fabien Gehl (European Commission)
14:45 – 15:00 CET Townhall debate
15:00 – 16:30 CET Workshop I: The Geoeconomics of Sovereign-Driven Investment
- Investment policy as economic statecraft and the geoeconomics of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows
- Geoeconomic investors: sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and sovereign-subsidized investors
- The “weaponization of interdependence” mindset: the theory and practice of managing capabilities and vulnerabilities in the context of FDI
- Sovereign-driven investment as a geoeconomic weapon
Foreword [10 minutes]: Julia Friedlander (Atlantic Council)
Keynote [10 minutes]: Jaap van Etten (Datenna)
Presentations of papers [10+5 minutes per paper]: (1) Agatha Kratz (Rhodium Group); Joachim Pohl (OECD); (2)Sophie Meunier (Princeton University); Robert Basedow (LSE); (3) Adam Dixon (Maastricht University)
Presentation of paper abstracts [5 minutes per paper]: (1) Tobias Gehrke (Egmont); (2) Naoise McDonagh (University of Adelaide); (3) Csongor István Nagy (University of Szeged/Central European University); (4) Alexandr Svetlicinii (University of Macau); (5) Jens Hillebrand Pohl (Maastricht University)
Panel chairs: Julia Friedlander (Atlantic Council); Steffen Hindelang (Uppsala University)
16:30 – 16:45 CET Break
16:45 – 18:30 CET Workshop II: Controlling, Not Banning Sovereign-Driven Investment
- Strategic autonomy as defensive geoeconomics
- Calibrating the tools: balancing autonomy and openness
- Countering sovereign-subsidized mergers, acquisitions, and investments
- A tidy toolbox: holistic approaches to investment screening, investment-related economic sanctions, and subsidy control
Keynote [10 minutes]: Sarah Bauerle Danzman (Indiana University)
Presentations of papers [10+5 minutes per paper]: (1) Phil Baumann (University of Lucerne); (2) Lena Hornkohl (Max Planck Institute Luxembourg); (3) Pim Jansen (Erasmus School of Law Rotterdam); (4) Yulia Levashova (Nyenrode Business University); (5) Manu Misra (Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) School of Law, Sao Paulo); (6) Claus Zimmermann (Noerr); (7) Wolf Zwartkruis (Leiden University)
Presentation of paper abstracts [3+2 minutes per paper]: (1) Eduardo Giugliano Garcia (UFMG / FGV)
Panel chairs: Sarah Bauerle Danzman (Indiana University); Jaap van Etten (Datenna)
18:30 CET End of first day
Friday, 3 December 2021
14:00 – 16:30 CET Workshop III: Regulatory Approaches to Foreign Investment Control
- The international legal framework for foreign investment control; the EU’s approach to coordinating investment screening mechanisms
- Regulating sovereign-driven investments in international trade and investment agreements
- Economic sanctions as an instrument of foreign investment control
- State shareholdings as a means of controlling adversarial capital
- Screening systems to evaluate FDI: searching for common principles
Keynote [10 minutes]: Joanna Warchol (European Parliament)
Presentations of papers [10+5 minutes per paper]: (1) Federica Cristani (Institute of International Relations Prague); (2) Qingjiang Kong (China University of Political Science and Law); (3) Attila Nagy (Jena Centre for Reconciliation Studies); (4) Sara Pugliese (University of Naples “Parthenope”; (5) Csaba Rusznak (Sovereign Arbitration Advisors); (6) Bartosz Soloch (University of Łódź); (7) Tamás Szabados (Eötvös Loránd University); (8) Kilian Wagner (University of Vienna)
Presentation of paper abstracts [3+2 minutes per paper]: (1) Barbara Kaech (Nord Stream 2); Sasa Beljin (Nord Stream 2); Moritz Wüstenberg (Nord Stream 2); (2) Frenkchris Sinay (College of Europe); (3) Qingxiu Bu (University of Sussex)
Panel chairs: Dominik Eisenhut (Airbus); Carlos Esplugues (University of Valencia)
16:30 – 16:45 CET Break
16:45 – 18:30 CET Workshop IV: Delimiting the Concept of Investment Security
- National security in an investment context: how to define it?
- Security as an analytical approach and the multidimensional scope of (national) security
- Protection of critical resources and strategic assets: infrastructure, technology, supply of inputs, data, and media
- Methodological considerations in assessing security threats
- Beyond hybrid threats: economic security and its implications for foreign investment control
Presentations of papers [10+5 minutes per paper]: (1) Francesco Cazzini (Wageningen University and Research (WUR)); (2) John Lash (Darkhorse Global); (3) Alessandro Lazari (F24 AG); (4) Maria Rosaria Mauro (Università degli Studi del Molise/Università Luiss Guido Carli of Rome); (5) Alejandra Torres Camprubí (Foley Hoag LLP)
Presentation of paper abstracts [3+2 minutes per paper]: (1) Marek Jaśkowski (CSWU); (2) Martijn Rasser (CNAS)
Panel chairs and discussants: Teoman Hagemeyer-Witzleb (Berlin Administrative Court); Caitríona Heinl (Azure Forum)
18:30 CET End of the second day
Monday, 6 December 2021
14:00 – 15:30 CET Workshop V: CELIS Country Reports – Kick-off
- The CELIS Country Reports: background, purpose, and process
- Introduction of CELIS Country Reporters
- Comparative economic and political background to investment screening
- International context and commitments affecting investment screening
Presentation of Country Reporters [3 minutes per team]: (1) Christoph Herrmann (University of Passau); Christoph Arhold (White & Case); Phil Baumann (University of Lucerne); Patricia Bendlin Spür (Bird & Bird); Volker Weiss (Schoenherr); (2) Rebecca Vikjær-Andresen (Poul Schmidt Kammeradvokaten); Carolina Dackö (Mannheimer Swartling); Hannes Lenk (Aarhus University); Jaanus Mägi (Magnusson Law); Hussain Raja (University of Copenhagen); (3) Pantelis Christofides (L. Papaphilippou & Co.); Maria Fanou (Queen Mary); Andrea Sacco Ginevri (Legance); Thomas Papadopoulos (University of Cyprus); Linda Lorenzon (LCA Studio Legale); Federico Riganti (Università degli studi di Torino); (4) Marek Jaśkowski (CSWU); Maria Kalinowska (LegalKraft); Ondrej Svoboda (Czech Embassy, Tokyo); (5) Agnieszka Nosowicz (Gide Loyrette Nouel); Suzana Tavares (Portuguese Supreme Administrative Court); (6) Thijs De Cuyper (KU Leuven); Wessel Geursen (De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek); (7) Raluca Coman (Clifford Chance); Bálint Kovács (Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania); Csongor István Nagy (University of Szeged/Central European University); (8) Safar Safarli (DER Legal); (9) Rahmi Kopar (CEPMLP); (10) Mohammad Faruqe (Bangladesh Ministry of Justice); Argha Kumar Jena (CELIS Institute); Gaurav Majumdar (Uppsala University); (11) Charles Ho Wang Mak (University of Glasgow); Cheng Bian (Erasmus School of Law); (12) Claudia Manrique Carpio (University of Barcelona); (13) Elvis Zerva (Albania Investment Council Secretariat); (14) Anton Tugushev (City University of Hong Kong); Rinat Gareev (Russian Institute of Modern Arbitration).
Presentations of papers [10+5 minutes per paper]: Federico Riganti (Università degli studi di Torino)
Presentation of paper abstracts [3+2 minutes per paper]: Christoph Arhold (White & Case); Henning Berger (White & Case).
Panel chairs and discussants: Steffen Hindelang (Uppsala University); Jens Hillebrand Pohl (Maastricht University)
15:30 – 15:45 CET Break
15:45 – 18:00 CET Workshop VI: CELIS Country Reports – The Triggering of Screening
- Screening mechanisms: cross-sectoral, sectoral, mixed, asset-based
- Regulatory frameworks: legal, administrative, and supervisory
- Covered investments: entities, assets, services, land, greenfield investment
- Covered investors and definitions of control
- Triggers – type: mandatory notification, call-in powers, voluntary notification
- Triggers – timing: ex ante vs. ex post notification, preapproval
- Triggers – thresholds: levels, structure, calibration, multiple
- Legal consequences of non-notification/non-compliance
- Other country-specific or sector-specific parameters
Panel: Christoph Arhold (White & Case); Sarah Bauerle Danzman (Indiana University); Christoph Herrmann (University of Passau); Steffen Hindelang (Uppsala University); Jens Hillebrand Pohl (Maastricht University); Rebecca Vikjær-Andresen (Poul Schmidt Kammeradvokaten)
18:00 CET End of the third day
Tuesday, 7 December 2021
14:00 – 16:00 CET Workshop VII: CELIS Country Model Report – Screening Procedure
- Procedural framework, screening authority governance, staffing
- Interagency review and coordination: lead authority, local representation, interagency information sharing, third-party intervention
- Disclosure requirements: mandatory disclosure, disclosure request (including to third parties), data processing, data privacy
- Due process safeguards: transparency, right to be heard, motivated decisions
- Formal and informal guidance: pre-notification, consultation, government relations
- Screening criteria: national security, public order, net benefits, competition
- Decision making: competences, discretion, disclosure, mitigation
- Recourse: adjudication (judicial or administrative), scope and standard of judicial review, non-adjudicatory remedies (complaints mechanisms, mediation, ombudsman)
Panel: Christoph Arhold (White & Case); Sarah Bauerle Danzman (Indiana University); Christoph Herrmann (University of Passau); Steffen Hindelang (Uppsala University); Jens Hillebrand Pohl (Maastricht University); Rebecca Vikjær-Andresen (Poul Schmidt Kammeradvokaten)
16:00 – 16:15 CET Break
16:15 – 18:15 CET Workshop VIII: CELIS Country Reports – Next Steps
- Workflow: ongoing reporting, reporting cycles, milestones
- Start-up phase: data collection, preliminary overviews, CELIS Country Notes
- Deep dive phase: comparative legal analysis of specific investment-screening related issues, CELIS Issue Notes
- CELIS Country Reports; development of a restatement and model law of investment screening
- The CELIS Board of Country Reporters
Speakers: Steffen Hindelang (Uppsala University); Jens Hillebrand Pohl (Maastricht University)
18:30 CET End of the Symposium
Hosts

Steffen Hindelang
Professor
UU/SDU
Uppsala/Odense

J. Hillebrand Pohl
University Lecturer and Research Fellow
Maastricht University
Speakers

Daniel Fiott
Senior Fellow, Security and Defence Editor
EU Institute for Security Studies
Brussels
Fabien Gehl
Deputy Head of Unit
European Commission
Brussels
Julia Friedlander
Deputy Director of GeoEconomics
Atlantic Council
Washington, D.C.
Agatha Kratz
Associate Director
Rhodium Group
Paris
Joachim Pohl
Head, International Investment Governance Team, OECD Investment Division
Paris
Sophie Meunier
Senior Research Scholar
Princeton University
Princeton
Robert Basedow
Assistant Professor
London School of Economics
London
Adam Dixon
Associate Professor
Maastricht University
Maastricht
Tobias Gehrke
Research Fellow
Egmont Institute
Brussels![IIT Staff pic 4mb[6]](https://celis.institute/wp-content/uploads/bb-plugin/cache/IIT-Staff-pic-4mb6-square.png)
Naoise McDonagh
University Lecturer
University of Adelaide
Adelaide
Csongor István Nagy
Professor
University of Szeged
Szeged
Alexandr Svetlicinii
Associate Professor
University of Macau
Macau SAR
Jaap van Etten
CEO and Co-Founder
Datenna
Eindhoven
Sarah Bauerle Danzmann
Assistant Professor
Indiana University Bloomington
Bloomington
Phil Baumann
Senior Academic Assistant
University of Lucerne
Lucerne
Lena Hornkohl
Senior Research Fellow
Max Planck Institute Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Pim Jansen
Assistant Professor
Erasmus School of Law Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Yulia Levashova
Assistant Professor
Nyenrode Business University
Breukelen
Manu Misra
Senior Research Fellow
Getulio Vargas Foundation School of Law
São Paulo
Claus Zimmermann
Associated Partner
Noerr LLP
Brussels
Wolf Zwartkruis
PhD Candidate
University of Leiden
Leiden
Qingxiu Bu
Associate Professor
University of Sussex
Brighton
Eduardo Giugliano Garcia
Research Assistant
UFMG/FGV
Belo Horizonte
Joanna Warchol
Legal and Political Adviser
European Parliament
Brussels/Strasbourg
Dominik Eisenhut
Senior Legal Counsel
Airbus Defence
Munich
Carlos Esplugues
Professor
University of Valencia
Valencia
Federica Cristani
Senior Researcher
Institute of International Relations Prague
Prague
Qingjiang Kong
Professor of Law
China University of Political Science & Law
BeijingAttila Nagy
PhD Candidate
Jena Centre for Reconciliation Studies
Jena
Sara Pugliese
Associate Professor
University of Naples “Parthenope”
Naples
Csaba M. Rusznak
President
Sovereign Arbitration Advisors
Washington, D.C.
Bartosz Soloch
PhD Candidate
University of Łódź
Łódź
Tamás Szabados
Associate Professor
Eötvös Loránd University
Budapest
Kilian Wagner
Research Assistant
University of Vienna
Vienna
Barbara Kaech
General Counsel
Nord Stream 2
Zug
Sasa Beljin
Senior Legal Counsel
Nord Stream 2
Zug
Moritz Wüstenberg
Legal Counsel
Nord Stream 2
Zug
Frenkchris Sinay
LL.M. Candidate
College of Europe
Bruges
Teoman Hagemeyer-Witzleb
Judge
Berlin Administrative Court
Berlin
Caitríona Heinl
Executive Director
Azure Forum
Dublin
Pascale Accaoui Lorfing
Associated Member
CREDIMI
Dijon
Francesco Cazzini
Lecturer
Wageningen University and Research
Wageningen
John Lash
Founder
Darkhorse Global
Pittsburgh
Alessandro Lazari
Senior Key Account Manager
F24 AG
Munich
Maria Rosaria Mauro
Professor
University of Molise/Luiss Guido Carli
Rome
Alejandra Torres Camprubí
Associate
Foley Hoag LLP
Paris
Marek Jaśkowski
Assistant Professor
Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University
Warsaw
Martijn Rasser
Senior Fellow and Director
Center for a New American Security
Washington, D.C.
Christoph Herrmann
Professor
University of Passau
Passau
Christoph Arhold
Counsel
White & Case
Berlin/Brussels
Patricia Bendlin Spür
Associate
Bird & Bird
Munich
Volker Weiss
Office Managing Partner
Schoenherr
Brussels
Rebecca Vikjær-Andresen
Attorney
Poul Schmidt Kammeradvokaten
Copenhagen
Carolina Dackö
Partner
Mannheimer Swartling
Gothenburg
Hannes Lenk
Assistant Professor
Aarhus University
Aarhus
Jaanus Mägi
Attorney & Manager
Magnusson Law
Tallinn
Hussain Raja
Jurist
University of Copenhagen
Pantelis Christofides
Partner
L Papaphilippou & Co
Nicosia
Maria Fanou
Research Fellow
Queen Mary University London
London
Andrea Sacco Ginevri
Partner
Legance
Rome
Thomas Papadopoulos
Assistant Professor
University of Cyprus
Nicosia
Linda Lorenzon
Junior Associate
LCA Studio Legale
Milan
Federico Riganti
Research Associate
University of Turin
Turin
Maria Kalinowska
Associate
LegalKraft
Warsaw
Ondřej Svoboda
Research Fellow
Charles University
Prague
Agnieszka Nosowicz
Associate
Gide Loyrette Nouel
Brussels
Suzana Tavares
Judge
Portuguese Supreme Administrative Court
Lisbon
Thijs De Cuyper
PhD Researcher/Teaching Assistant
KU Leuven
Leuven
Wessel Geursen
Senior Legal Adviser
De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek
Amsterdam
Raluca Coman
Senior Associate
Clifford Chance
Bucharest
Bálint Kovács
Junior Lecturer
Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania / Cluj-Napoca
Safar Safarli
Legal Trainee
DER Legal
Stockholm
Rahmi Kopar
Visiting Fellow
Centre for Energy, Petroleum & Mineral Law and Policy Dundee
Mohammad Faruque
Additional District and Sessions Judge
Ministry of Law, Justice & Parliamentary Affairs, Dhaka
Argha Kumar Jena
Research Assistant
Prof. Dr. Steffen Hindelang
Berlin
Gaurav Majumdar
Researcher
Uppsala University
Uppsala
Charles Ho Wang Mak
PhD Candidate/Teaching Assistant
University of Glasgow
Glasgow
Cheng Bian
Academic Researcher
Erasmus University Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Claudia Gladys Manrique Carpio
Research Associate
University of Barcelona
Barcelona
Elvis Zerva
Legal & Regulatory Expert
Albania Investment Council
Tirana
Anton Tugushev
Lawyer
Russia
Moscow
Rinat Gareev
Case Counsel
Russian Arbitration Center
Moscow
Henning Berger
Partner
White & Case
Berlin
Full Programme
Videos and other Material
CELIS Virtual Symposium 2021 Videos and Presentations
The event has been video-recorded. Drafts and PowerPoint presentations are also available.
At last year’s CELIS Virtual Symposium 2021, Jaap van Etten, CEO of CELIS Patron “Datenna“, gave some thought provoking impulses regarding motives and consequences of sovereign-driven investments in his keynote.
Other speakers provided interesting insights in the following subjects in their keynotes and draft paper/abstract presentations:
- Fair Play? The Politics of Evaluating Foreign Subsidies in the European Union
- The merger control tools in the EU Proposal for a new Regulation on foreign subsidies distorting the internal market: The final pieces of the puzzle to ensure competitive neutrality in Cross-Border M&A?
- The changing landscape of sovereign wealth funds: implications for investment screening
- European Commission’s First Annual Report on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investment into the Union
- The EU Draft Regulation On Distortive Foreign Subsidies – What, why and how?
- Industrial policy, competition policy and strategic autonomy
- Setting the scene(s): Investment Screening and Beyond
- Balance of Payments-Related Restrictions on the Freedom of Investment
- Political-economic theses on FDI
- Investor obligations through the prism of the EU foreign investment screening framework
- Geoeconomic Competition and Rival Models of Capitalism: Assessing the EU Debate on Sovereign-Driven Investment
- Geoeconomic Risks Associated with Foreign Investments
- Investment screening mechanisms in times of COVID-19: national approaches
- Economic sanctions as an instrument of foreign investment control – A commercial perspective
- Foreign Investment Security Review in China
- Creating assessment methodologies for national security threats
- The Evolving Concept of ‘National Security’ and Foreign Investment Screening Procedures, with Particular Reference to the Italian Regime
- States’ Shareholding as a Tool of Investment Control in Strategically Important Companies: Any Consequences for the International Responsibility?
- Economic Sanctions as Instruments of Foreign Investment Control
- What role for investment screening in international investment law?
- The International Legal Framework for Foreign Investment Control
- National security and essential security interests in the CJEU jurisprudence
- Italian Foreign Investment screening mechanism in the EU framework between health security, defence of national interests, and economic recovery
- The Multidimensional Scope of National Security
- Investment arbitration as a potential tool for challenging adverse investment screening decisions
- The Concept of Security: Reconstruction of the Origins, Scope and Meaning of an Ambiguous Symbol
- Foreign investments in critical sectors in the European Union: FDI control and other parallel screening mechanisms – interference problems and practical solutions
- Republic of Cyprus and Foreign Direct Investment Screening: Contemplating the Way Forward
- Regulation on FDI and emergency discipline: from Protection to Protectionism
If these topics have raised your interest and you would like to access the related videos and documents, or if you would like to contribute yourself to the CELIS Institute, you might like to become part of the CELIS Community, here.
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