EU Council, Parliament agree on foreign direct investment regulation

The European Union Council and the European Parliament on Thursday reached a provisional agreement on a regulation to screen foreign direct investment, in a move to strengthen the bloc’s ability to prevent and deal with potential risks.

“Today’s agreement strengthens the EU’s capacity to protect its security and public order, while ensuring Europe remains an attractive destination for investors,” Danish Business and Industry Minister, Morten Bodskov, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said in a statement.

The revised regulation builds on the existing foreign direct investment screening framework, the statement said.

The agreement states that all 27 member states would form screening mechanisms covering a specific set of sensitive areas including dual-use items and military equipment, critical raw materials, energy and transport, electoral infrastructure and hyper-critical technologies, such as artificial intelligence.

Source:  Reuters