On 8 May 2025, the European Parliament adopted an amended proposal to revise the EU Foreign Direct Investment Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/452) (the “FDI Regulation”), amending the proposal originally published by the EU Commission and significantly deviating from it in certain important areas. The FDI Regulation revisions will bring into force significant changes to the foreign investment screening landscape across all Member States. It will be essential for investors to seek regulatory advice early in the planning stages of a transaction involving one or more EU Member States in order to formulate a robust FDI regulatory strategy.
Pursuant to the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (Außenwirtschaftsgesetz – AWG) and the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (Außenwirtschaftsverordnung – AWV), investments into German entities may be subject to the review of the German foreign investment review laws framework. Investments into entities operating in specific, particularly sensitive, business areas, such as for example the operation of critical infrastructure, may be subject to a notification and clearance requirement. The legislative act specifying what qualifies as critical…