EU FDI Screening Regulation Enters Into Force

As of 11 October 2020 the EU FDI Screening Regulation is in force, ending the long wait for a Union framework to screen foreign direct investments. The umbrella spanned by the EU FDI Regulation is a further (crucial) building block in the EU's endeavors to tighten and coordinate the screening of foreign direct investments.

New regimes and higher scrutiny across the EU

The EU FDI Screening Regulation centres around a cooperation mechanism which allows EU Member States and the European Commission (EC) to exchange information and raise concerns related to specific investments. By this token, it enables the EC to issue opinions when an investment poses a threat to the security or public order of more than one Member State, or when an investment could undermine a project of EU interest. Thus, going forward, Member States and the EC will be able to exchange and cooperate on incoming foreign direct investments in the framework of a structured process.