The complete white paper, which was published in October 2017, is available at https://www.cliffordchance.com
Synopsis: Nationalist politics have swept through many developed economies, and in reaction governments are considering new restrictions on investments, including foreign direct investment. The European Commission, for example, has proposed legislation for an E.U. framework that would screen foreign direct investment on the grounds of security and public policy. Clifford Chance has published a report that reviews this legislation and its potential impacts. “The legal confirmation that member states may legitimately block foreign takeovers involving critical infrastructure, technologies, raw materials and sensitive information could lead to some member states introducing new foreign investment screening regimes or broadening the scope of their existing regimes and, in either case, reviewing transactions that are not, at present, caught,” the report notes. The new E.U. regulations were proposed Sept. 13 at the European Parliament in response to concerns about state-owned enterprises, in particular, taking over European companies for strategic reasons.
