About CFIS 23 – Investment Screening and Economic Security
The CELIS Forum on Investment Screening (CFIS) is the flagship event of the CELIS Institute, to be held in its 5th edition this year.
CFIS is Europe’s first and foremost forum to discuss questions on investment screening and economic security.
Thought leaders in investment control and economic security from Europe, the US, and beyond discuss current practical challenges and influential ideas to sketch geoeconomic strategies for Europe.
Discussions in CFIS 23 are held partly in private (strict Chatham House rules apply) and partly in public. The number of in-person participants and panels for the in-private part are restricted to no more than 50 people in total. Public sessions can be joined online and by additional selected invitees.
Thought leaders debate European economic security both from a strategic and highly practical perspective. Participants are invited with the view to form a trusted community of economic security experts from business, government, and academia who deal with the subject matter on a high level.
CFIS 23 Topics
How to build a Geoeconomic European Union? │ Economic security and the Internal Market │ The EU and the US-China technology hegemony │ Review of the EU’s Investment Screening Regulation (Inbound and Outbound) │ Building resilience: Establishing efficient investment screening mechanisms in transition and developing countries │ EU Foreign Subsidies Regulation
Why should you attend CFIS 23?
- Engage in dialogue with key policy makers and leading experts from government, business, private legal practice, and academia.
- Hear about the latest thinking on investment screening and economic security relevant to overcome current challenges
- Best practices, expectations, challenges in (inbound and outbound) investment screening in EU Member States, the EU, the United States and other jurisdictions
- Understanding security risks and methods or risk mitigation
- Thinking investment control 360 degrees – inter-linkage with sanctions, export control, and state aid
- Developments to follow in the a fast-changing geoeconomic landscape.
CFIS 23 Agenda at a Glance
Wednesday, 11 October 2023
Venue
Hotel NH Collection Prague Carlo IV, Senovážné nám. 13/991, 110 00 Nové Město, Prague (Czech Republic)
FORUM OPENING
Dress Code: Business Attire
(closed discussions, speakers and attendees with personal invitation)
Registration and Opening Reception
Conveners’ Welcome Remarks
by Professor Steffen Hindelang (Executive Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Professor of Investment and Trade Law, Uppsala University, Uppsala) and Dr Roland Stein (Deputy Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Founding Partner, Blomstein, Berlin)
Dinner with Dinner Speech
by Director Peter Sandler (Director for Enforcement, Market Access, SMEs, Legal Affairs and Technology, DG Trade, European Commission, Brussels)
on “Getting serious: blurring boundaries of law and politics in the search for EU’s economic security”
Fireside Chats: Building A Trusted Forum And Community For And By Economic Security Experts
Dress code: Business casual
(closed discussions, speakers and attendees with personal invitation)
Kick-off remarks
by H.E. Ambassador Bijan Sabet (US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Czech Republic, US Embassy, Prague)
Interventions
by Professor Steffen Hindelang (Executive Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Professor of Investment and Trade Law, Uppsala University, Uppsala)
Damien Levie (Head of Unit, Technology & Security, FDI Screening, DG Trade, European Commission, Brussels)
Jeffrey Lightfoot (Program Director, Europe, Center for International Private Enterprise, Bratislava)
Dr Roland Stein (Deputy Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Founding Partner, Blomstein, Berlin)
Drinks
Thursday, 12 October 2023
Venue: Hotel Hilton Prague, Pobřežní 311/1, 186 00 Rohanský ostrov, Prague (Czech Republic)
Dress Code: Business Attire
Keynote and Q&A:
Towards a Geoeconomic Union – Do We Need A New EU Economic Order?
Introduction to the Keynote Event
Presentation of the Keynote Speakers
by Professor Steffen Hindelang (Executive Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Professor of Investment and Trade Law, Uppsala University, Uppsala)
Keynote Address
by H.E. Director General Anders Ahnlid (Director General, The National Board of Trade, Stockholm)
Keynote Address
by Professor Pavel Šturma (Professor of Public International Law, Charles University, Prague; Former Chair, UN International Law Commission)
Keynote Event – Question and Answers
Panellists:
- H.E. Director General Anders Ahnlid (Director General, The Swedish National Board of Trade)
- Professor Pavel Šturma (Professor of Public International Law, Charles University, Prague; Former Chair, UN International Law Commission)
Moderator: Professor Steffen Hindelang (Executive Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Professor of Investment and Trade Law, Uppsala University, Uppsala)
Networking and Refreshment Break
Keynote and High-Level Roundtable:
The Role of Partners and Allies in Providing Economic Security
Introduction to the Keynote Event
and Presentation of the Keynote Speaker
by The Honourable Dr Kim Holmes (Vice Chair of the Board, Center for International Private Enterprise, Washington DC/Warsaw)
Keynote Event – Questions and Answers
H.E. Assistant Secretary Paul Rosen (Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington DC)
In a conversation with: The Honourable Dr Kim Holmes (Vice Chair of the Board, Center for International Private Enterprise, Washington DC/Warsaw)
High-Level Roundtable
Panellists:
- H.E. Ambassador Ivo Germann (Head of Foreign Economic Affairs Directorate, Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Bern)
- H. E. Deputy Director General Denis Redonnet (Deputy Director General and Chief Trade Enforcement Officer, DG Trade, European Commission, Brussels)
- H.E. Assistant Secretary Paul Rosen (Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington DC)
- H. E. Director Ota Šimák (Director of the Trade Policy Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Prague)
- H. E. Director Massahiro Tachibana (Director of International Investment Control Office, Trade Control Department Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, Tokio)
Moderators: Dr Roland Stein (Deputy Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Founding Partner, Blomstein, Berlin)
Luncheon
Session: “Sandwiched Europe –
The EU and the US-China Technology Hegemony”
Chairs: Professor Jill Goldenziel (U.S. National Defense University, Washington DC) and Professor Steffen Hindelang (Executive Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Professor of Investment and Trade Law, Uppsala University, Uppsala)
Speakers:
- Joffrey Celestin-Urbain (Head of Economic Strategic Intelligence and Security Department of the Directorate General for Enterprise, Paris)
- Professor Stephan Wernicke (Head of Legal Affairs, German Association of Chambers of Industry and Commerce, Berlin)
- Andrew Pahutski (Vice President, Economic Security Systems Planning and Analysis, Washington DC)
- Deputy Director Andrew Preston (Head, Investment Security, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Government, London)
- Gareth Heywood (Head of Government Relations, Datenna, Eindhoven)
Networking and Refreshment Break
Registration Public Forum Attendees
Public Forum Opening Keynote and Discussions
Introduction to the Keynote Event and
Presentation of the Keynote Speaker
by Assistant Professor Lena Hornkohl (Deputy Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Vienna University, Vienna)
Review of the EU’s Investment Screening Regulation – Europe’s
Screening Mechanism(s) in five years’ time
by Damien Levie (Head of Unit, Technology & Security, FDI Screening, DG Trade, European Commission, Brussels)
Comments
- by Ana-Maria Belacurencu (nee Popa) (Case handler, Foreign Investment Department, Romanian Competition Council, Bucharest)
- by Romain Rard (Chair of the Foreign Investments Taskforce, Invest Europe, Brussels)
- by Juan Ignacio Gonzalez Bastero (Principal Manager, Chamber 4 Directorate, Regulation of Markets and Competitive Economy, European Court of Auditors, Luxemburg)
Roundtable: Looking For a Design of Europe’s Screening Mechanism
Panellists:
- Petr Lang (Member of the Department for Trade Policy, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Prague)
- Pierre-Marie Voegeli (Deputy Head of Unit, Control of Foreign Investments, French Treasury, Paris)
- Dr Angelika Milger (Deputy Head of Unit, German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Berlin)
- Dr Alexandra Leoni (Head of Unit, Investment Control, Austrian Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy, Vienna)
- Dimitri Slobodenjuk (Partner, Clifford Chance, Dusseldorf)
Moderators: Dr Leonard von Rummel (Senior Associate, Blomstein, Berlin) and Assistant Professor Lena Hornkohl (Deputy Director, CELIS Institute Berlin; Vienna University, Vienna)
Drinks Reception, courtesy of Kirkland & Ellis
Venue: Hotel NH Collection Prague Carlo IV
CFIS Reception & Banquet
Venue: Hotel NH Collection Prague Carlo IV
Dinner Speech
by H.E. Senator Pavel Fischer (Senate, Czech Republic, Prague)
*Confirmation pending
Friday, 13 October 2023
Venue: Hotel Hilton Prague, Pobřežní 311/1, 186 00 Rohanský ostrov, Prague (Czech Republic)
Dress Code: Business Casual
Session: Outward Investment Screening:
Between Risk Diversification, Technology Denial, and the Return of Capital Controls
Chair: Dr Roland Stein (Deputy Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Founding Partner, Blomstein, Berlin)
Speaker:
- Jill McClune (General Counsel, US, Avon Protection Systems, Washington DC)
- Julia Friedlander (Nonresident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council; CEO Atlantik-Brücke, Berlin)
- Vladimír Vaňo (Chief Economist, GLOBSEC, Bratislava)
- Jani Ringborg (Member of the Legal Service, European Commission, Brussels)
Networking and Refreshment Break
Session: Building Resilience:
Understanding the Development of Economic Security Policy Legislation Beyond the EU
Chairs: John Kay (Programme Manager Europe and Eurasia,
Center for International Private Enterprise, Washington DC/Warsaw) and Dr Fabian Zuleeg (Chief Executive, European Policy Center, Brussels)
Speaker:
- H.E. Deputy Minister Cetin Ali Dönmez (Deputy Minister, Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology, Ankara)*
- Dr Akira Igata (Project Lecturer at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo)
- Thomas ‘Skip’ Mark (Senior Counsel, Commercial Law Development Program, US Department of Commerce, Washington DC)
- Mila Malairău (Executive Director, American Chamber of Commerce, Chisinau)
- Dorieke Overduin (Senior Legal Advisor, Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, The Hague)
- Professor Bimal N. Patel (Vice Chancellor of Rashtriya Raksha University; Member of the Indian National Security Advisory Board and of the International Law Commission, Gandhinagar)
Closing Remarks
by Professor Steffen Hindelang (Executive Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Professor of Investment and Trade Law, Uppsala University, Uppsala) and Dr Roland Stein (Deputy Director, CELIS Institute, Berlin; Founding Partner, Blomstein, Berlin)
Luncheon
End of CFIS 23
*Confirmation pending
Subject to change, state 03 October 2023
Sponsored tickets for CFIS 23 – SIFIR Young Scholars / CELIS Young Scholars
CELIS Institute & The Swedish Institute of International Law Join Forces for CFIS 23 Conference!
As a testament to our collaboration, The Swedish Institute of International Law is delighted to sponsor three online places and one coveted in-person place at the CFIS 23 Conference. These sponsorships will provide deserving young scholars and PhD students with the unique opportunity to participate in this enriching event, gain invaluable insights from world-class experts, and actively engage in meaningful discussions on the most pressing issues in investment screening and economic security.
The following successful applicants will be invited as SIFIR Young Scholars to CFIS 23:
SIFIR CFIS 23 Fully Sponsored In-Person Ticket
- Sara Holmström (Uppsala University)
SIFIR CFIS 23 Fully Sponsored Online Ticket for Public Sessions
- Kilian Wagner (University of Vienna)
- Tim Daniel Ellemann (European University Institute)
- Enrico Tinti (University of Bologna)
As we received so many excellent applications, the CELIS Institute has decided to award three additional free online tickets for CFIS 23’s public sessions and invite three promissing PhD students as CELIS Young Scholars:
CELIS Institute CFIS 23 Fully Sponsored Online Ticket for Public Sessions
- Niroshika Liyana Muhandiram (South Asian University)
- Yoa Yuan (Leiden University)
- Christos Karetsos (City, University of London).
Congratulations and welcome to Prague.
Queries on the CFIS 23
If you have any questions about participation and sponsorship opportunities, please contact us.
CFIS takes place under the honorary patronage of the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade
CFIS 23 Official Key Sponsors and Supporting Patrons
CFIS 23 Affiliated Universities
