2021 CELIS Virtual Symposium

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