Investment screenings are on the rise worldwide: from health and energy supply to green technology, public authorities show more vigilance for the protection of strategically important economic sectors and social infrastructures. In 2024, the European Commission proposed a new regulation for screening foreign investments in the EU.
 

• AK welcomes efforts to increase vigilance regarding controversial acquisitions and to expand the screening powers of public authorities. At the same time, it criticises the lack of legal impact assessment of the proposal for a new FDI screening regulation.
   
• An improved early warning system shall address these three points in particular:

1. Instead of loopholes in the protective shield and a narrow focus on security risks: ensuring comprehensive public policy space for investment screenings
    
2. Instead of delayed review options in the event of a takeover: designing review thresholds coherently across Europe by starting from a 10 percent share
    
3. Instead of a non-transparent black box: public participation in the screening process and publicly available information on screening cases must be fundamentally improved.

• The proposal contains serious weaknesses in this respect and urgently needs to be revised.