On 5 May 2021, the European Commission (Commission) published a proposed Regulation, along with an impact assessment report, aiming to address potential distortions caused by foreign subsidies in the Single Market (the Proposed Regulation). The Proposed Regulation as drafted introduces an additional regulatory requirement for companies doing business in Europe. Inevitably, it will increase the regulatory risk and burden for companies that are active in the EU and have received foreign (i.e. non-EU) subsides. Under…
1. Overview On 18 December 2020, the Italian Government issued implementing rules identifying which assets within the sectors listed in the EU FDI Regulation will be deemed “strategic” for Italian foreign investment review (FIR) purposes. These implementing rules will enter into force on 14 January 2021 (New Implementing Rules). The EU FDI Regulation, which became fully operational on 11 October 2020, specifies certain factors and sectors that Member States may take into consideration when deciding…
On 30 December 2020, the EU and China reached an agreement “in principle” for a new EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (“CAI”) (see our previous update here). The CAI concludes seven years of investment negotiations, that begun in October 2013, and is expected to come into force later this year. In its press release (see here), the EU stated that the CAI was the “most ambitious agreement that China has ever concluded with a third…
Recent media reports indicate that the EU and China are making progress in long-running negotiations towards a deal to remove barriers to foreign investment. Agreement may potentially be reached by the end of 2020, after seven years of often difficult talks. Negotiations regarding an EU-China investment agreement initially kicked off in 2013. The aim of the agreement is to provide certainty, protection and predictable market access for EU and China investors, with the key sticking…
On 25 July 2020, amid Covid-crisis, a new law governing foreign investment review in Austria entered into force. The new law – under the title Investment Control Act (“ICA”) – significantly broadened the scope of foreign investment review in Austria. The ICA now applies to direct and indirect acquisitions of Austrian companies (including Austrian subsidiaries), asset deals or acquisitions of voting rights (starting with a threshold of only 10% in particularly sensitive sectors). After almost…
The Administrative Court of Stockholm (the “Court”) has decided on a suspension of the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority’s (“PST”) ban on Huawei, which prevents Huawei from gaining access to Sweden’s new 5G network, on the grounds that the ban has negative effects on the company’s rights and that the final outcome in this case is uncertain.[1] We have in a recent post described the ban on Chinese tech-giants Huawei and ZTE, which stops the…
Last week, the EU published the results of its public consultation on the White Paper on levelling the playing field as regards foreign subsidies. Out of the 150 responses received from EU member states, EU companies and foreign governments (including China and the US), feedback was generally positive and member states are generally in favour of taking legislative action. Amongst the responses were also warnings that the EU should take great care to avoid any…
On 20 October 2020, the Swedish government announced that it has blocked Chinese tech-giants Huawei and ZTE from gaining access to its new 5G wireless network, following the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority’s (“PTS”) assessment of tenderers. The ban on Huawei and ZTE was imposed following a security assessment made by the Swedish Armed Forces and the Swedish Security Service, citing cyber espionage concerns. The ban also requires Swedish telecommunication companies to remove any Huawei…
A few months after introducing new laws on Foreign Investment Restrictions (FIR) as part of the government’s Anti-Crisis Shield 4.0 programme, the Polish authority (the President of UOKiK) has issued its first decision acknowledging an acquisition that fell within the FIR. The key transaction parameters that triggered the consent requirement in this case were as follows: The investor, a private equity fund, came from a non-OECD country (the Cayman Islands);The target, the Center for Electronic Settlements…
On 11 October 2020, the EU screening mechanism for foreign direct investments potentially affecting security and public order in an EU Member State or in the whole EU became fully operational. This follows the adoption of the EU Foreign Direct Investment Regulation in March 2019 (see our previous updates here and here), when the European Commission (“Commission”) and the Member States established a coordination framework, consisting of various separate national screening mechanisms. The EU screening…