On 19 March 2025, the European Commission unveiled new draft measures to help Member States ramp up defence spending by 2030 among mounting concerns about Europe's security. The proposals reflect a renewed push to coordinate...more
On 15 January the European Commission (“EC”) took its latest (prudent) step towards an outbound investment screening regime, with the publication of its ‘Recommendation on reviewing outbound investments in technology areas...more
1/29/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Member State ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Risk Management ,
Semiconductors ,
Technology Sector
On 17 October, the European Commission (EC) issued its Fourth Annual Report under Article 5(4) of the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) Screening Regulation (the Regulation) along with an EC Staff Working Document (SWD). The...more
France continues to be an important destination for foreign direct investments (“FDI”) with 1,194 inbound investments projects last year. For the fifth consecutive year, France has been recognised as the most attractive...more
The Belgian FDI screening regime, introduced by the Cooperation Agreement of November 30, 2022 ("Cooperation Agreement") became effective on July 1, 2023. Similar to many other European foreign direct investment ("FDI")...more
Continuing the work from the Joint Communication on a European Economic Security Strategy published in June 2023, the European Commission unveiled a comprehensive package with five proposed initiatives to strengthen the EU's...more
Foreign direct investment ("FDI") screening was one of the major topics of 2023 as a myriad of new regimes joined the FDI club and its more seasoned members continue to strengthen scope and enforcement, with the impacts felt...more
Foreign direct investment (FDI) regimes continue to grow in number and complexity around the world, and FDI has become a key global regulatory consideration that must be carefully understood, assessed and managed in...more
The past two years have witnessed significant geopolitical fracturing and macroeconomic difficulties that continue to hamper certain dealmaking. Several sectors have posted transactional lows throughout 2023, and persistent...more
12/11/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Debt Financing ,
EU ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Global Dealmaking ,
Hong Kong ,
International Trade ,
Mergers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Taiwan ,
Trade Secrets ,
United States
Following other countries which have tightened regulations on foreign investments in sectors sensitive to national security, Singapore has on 3 November 2023 announced the introduction of the Significant Investments Review...more
The European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) has ruled that Hungary’s foreign investment screening law is incompatible with EU law, in particular the freedom of establishment enshrined in Article 54 TFEU. In striking down a...more
Now in its seventh year of annual publication, White & Case's Foreign Direct Investment Reviews provides a comprehensive look into rapidly evolving foreign direct investment (FDI) laws and regulations in approximately 40...more
3/22/2023
/ Acquisitions ,
Anti-Monopoly ,
Asia Pacific ,
Australia ,
Austria ,
Belgium ,
Canada ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cross-Border ,
Cybersecurity ,
Czech Republic ,
Denmark ,
EMEA ,
Estonia ,
EU ,
EU Screening Regulation ,
Finland ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
France ,
Germany ,
Hungary ,
Iceland ,
India ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Italy ,
Japan ,
Korea ,
Latvia ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Lithuania ,
Luxembourg ,
Malta ,
Member State ,
Mergers ,
Mexico ,
Middle East ,
National Security ,
Netherlands ,
New Legislation ,
New Zealand ,
Norway ,
Poland ,
Popular ,
Portugal ,
Romania ,
Slovakia ,
Slovenia ,
Spain ,
Sweden ,
Switzerland ,
Taiwan ,
Turkey ,
UK ,
United Arab Emirates (UAE) ,
United States
Foreign direct investment (FDI) regimes continue to proliferate and mature globally. Given their increasing ubiquity and potential impact on deals, parties must prioritize FDI when considering cross-border M&A transactions....more
12/8/2022
/ CFIUS ,
EU ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
International Regulatory Standards ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Popular ,
Taiwan ,
United States
In an unprecedented double-strike, the German government recently blocked two transactions pertaining to Chinese investments in German semiconductor facilities. Just two weeks before, the cabinet had already intervened...more
11/17/2022
/ Canada ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Germany ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
National Security ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Semiconductors ,
UK
In September, the French Directorate-General of the Treasury published new guidelines on the screening of foreign direct investments (FDI) in France (the "Guidelines"). Highly anticipated, the Guidelines were issued following...more
On 1 September, the European Commission (EC) issued its Second Annual Report under Article 5(4) of the Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) Screening Regulation along with an EC Staff Working Document (SWD). The Report covers the...more
Governments around the world are tightening their scrutiny of foreign direct investments -
Recent years have seen an upswing in foreign direct investment (FDI) reviews—a trend that has only accelerated sharply since the...more
2/9/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
CFIUS ,
Denmark ,
EU ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Switzerland ,
UK
Following major reforms, the French Foreign Investments Control regime is now reaching cruising speed -
Since 2014, the scope of the French Foreign Investments Control regime has been substantially expanded. In May 2019,...more
Member States are introducing or expanding investment screening regimes, and the European Commission is now playing an active role -
While there is no standalone foreign direct investment (FDI) screening at the EU level, the...more
12/27/2021
/ EU ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Subsidiaries ,
Investors ,
Member State ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Screening Procedures ,
Threshold Requirements
The European Commission (EC) issued its first Annual Report pursuant to Article 5(3) of the Screening Regulation on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the EU on 23 November 2021. The Report provides transparency around the...more
11/29/2021
/ Annual Reports ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
EU ,
EU Screening Regulation ,
European Commission ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investors ,
Member State ,
Popular ,
Transparency
In a regime undergoing rapid change, investment screening is currently "light," with red tape increasing for European inbound investment -
While there is still no standalone foreign direct investment (FDI) screening at...more
11/10/2020
/ Acquisitions ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
EU ,
EU Screening Regulation ,
Foreign Acquisitions ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Member State ,
Merger Controls ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
National Security Review Proceedings
The French Foreign Investments Control regime has recently been reinforced following a reform of 2019, and other measures have been adopted in view of the COVID-19 pandemic -
Since 2014, the scope of the French Foreign...more
In anticipation of the wave of requests from stricken companies due to the COVID-19 outbreak for more long-term State support, on 8 May, the Commission extended the scope of its State aid Temporary Framework to allow Member...more
The French Foreign Investments Control regime has recently been reinforced following a reform introduced by Decree n° 2019-1590 of 31 December 2019 and the Ministerial Order of 31 December 2019 relating to foreign investments...more
On 3 April, the Commission adopted an Amendment to extend the Temporary Framework for State aid measures to support the economy in the COVID-19 outbreak adopted on 19 March (covered in our previous alert: European Commission...more