Proposal For New Foreign Direct Investment Screening Rules

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In recent years, many countries have introduced or broadened their existing foreign direct investment ("FDI") screening systems, allowing governments and authorities to control certain foreign investments in their national territories for reasons of national security or public order. Sweden is one of few EU Member States that does not yet have FDI screening rules in place. This is about to change. In 2019, the Swedish government ordered a parliamentary inquiry with the dual purpose of adapting the Swedish rules to the EU's FDI framework (EU regulation 2019/452) (the "EU FDI Regulation") and proposing Swedish FDI screening rules.

On 1 November 2021, the proposal was presented by the parliamentary inquiry (SOU 2021:87). It will now go through the legislative process, including stakeholder consultation, and the resulting new law is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2023. In many ways, the Swedish proposal differs from other countries' FDI