About CFIS 25 – Investment Screening and Economic Security
The CELIS Forum (CFIS) is the flagship event of the CELIS Institute, now in its 7th year, and Europe’s first and foremost place to discuss investment screening and economic security issues.
Thought leaders in investment control and economic security from Europe, the U.S. and beyond debate current challenges and influential ideas from both a strategic and highly practical perspective to chart geo-economic strategies for Europe.
The number of participants is limited to no more than 60 speakers and 60 attendees. 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. Discussions at CFIS 25 will be held in private (strict Chatham House rules apply). There will be no public sessions this year.
Topics
CFIS 25 takes place amid an unfolding erosion of international trade rules, a growing U.S.-China confrontation, and ongoing war on European soil. These dynamics are challenging traditional notions of sovereignty, resilience, and openness across markets.
Against this backdrop, CFIS is more vital than ever. It offers trusted, cross-sector dialogue among thought-leading voices in economic security, thinking ahead in a time of accelerating global fragmentation. This year’s topics include:
- Building Trust Between Government and Business During Times of Geopolitical Shifts
- Creating Resilient Financing Ecosystems for Strategic Sectors
- Balancing Innovation and Sovereignty: The Role of FDI Screening and the FSR
- Investment Screening and Strategic Autonomy in the EU Defence Sector
- Investment Screening in Energy Technologies and Renewable Energy
- Transatlantic Perspectives on Investment Screening
- Mitigation, Compliance, and Judicial Recourse in Investment Screening
- Global Trends in Investment Screening in the EU Neighborhood, Latin and Central America and the Indo-Pacific
- The Future of Investment Screening in Europe – Revisions, Outbound Controls, and Internal Market Challenges
What Sets CFIS 25 Apart
A forum that goes beyond the current
CFIS is not limited to interpreting the contemporary regulatory landscape-it is designed to think ahead. Grounded in academic rigor and expert analysis, the Forum explores the future of economic security.
All stakeholders on deck
Every CFIS panel brings together thought leaders from across sectors and disciplines. This real-time, cross-disciplinary dialogue creates conversations that rarely occur in other forums or intergovernmental settings.
Closed-door format
Participation is by invitation only and limited to 60 speakers and 60 attendees. Each attendee is carefully selected to ensure optimal representation from government, academia, business, and law.
No spectators, only contributors
At CFIS, the line between panelist and participant disappears. Everyone is part of the conversation. The Forum avoids performative panels and fosters dynamic dialogue where every voice contributes to a richer understanding of today’s challenges and tomorrow’s solutions.
Rooted in Europe, engaged globally
While anchored in Europe, CFIS brings in key global voices. Past Forums have included voices from North and Central America, Southeast and East Asia, and beyond ensuring the conversation reflects the full spectrum of global economic security dynamics.
Unique stakeholder mix – Curated for balance
Each attendee is selected to ensure representation across government (≈35%), business (≈35%), academia (≈10%), and legal practice (≈20%).
Why You Should Attend CFIS 25
Government Officials
- Step into a room of peers from Europe, the U.S., and beyond to exchange on emerging best practices.
- Gain a 360° perspective into the evolving economic security landscape through a dialogue that complements intergovernmental consultations with thought-leading perspectives from business, academia, and law.
- Showcase your institution’s leadership and agency in navigating the economic security challenges of the 21st century.
- Steer tomorrow’s economic security policies by contributing your institutional expertise and strategic foresight.
Legal Experts
- Engage directly with peers, business leaders, and government officials to exchange perspectives on how economic security policies are or should be interpreted and applied in practice.
- Track legal developments across Europe, the U.S., and beyond to stay at the forefront of economic security regulation.
- Build relationships with government officials, in-house counsels and business leaders.
- Enrich the development of technically sound economic security policies by contributing your perspective as a legal practitioner.
Business Leaders
- Gain firsthand insights into today’s and tomorrow’s regulatory agenda-and bring business priorities directly into high-level policy dialogue.
- Learn how your peers are responding to an increasingly complex and fragmented global investment environment. ·
- Anticipate risks and opportunities amid rising geopolitical uncertainty.
- Drive sustainable, growth-enabling economic security policies by contributing your business perspective.
Academics
- Translate your research into real-time dialogue with government officials, business leaders, and legal experts.
- Stay on top of developments in Europe and beyond to be ahead of the curve in your research.
- Expand your academic network into policy and business circles to foster future collaborations. ·
- Stimulate forward-looking economic security policymaking by contributing your academic thinking.
Our CFIS 25 Side Events
Our CFIS 25 Patrons
Would you like to become a CELIS Patron and sponsor CFIS 25? Please reach out to events@celis.institute.
Our CFIS 25 Knowledge Partner
Impressions from CFIS 25
All CELIS Events are subject to the General Terms and Conditions of Events of the CELIS Institute, Berlin.
