On Thursday 19 October, the Commission published its annual report on the analytical review of foreign direct investments (FDI) in the European Union over the past year, as well as an update on the implementation of the regulation on export controls.
With regard to the report on FDI, the EU details that it has analysed around 1,100 investments since the control system was introduced in October 2020, including more than 420 in 2022. Of these 420 checks, less than 3% were the subject of a restriction decision by the Commission.
The four sectors with the highest number of transactions in 2022 were manufacturing, ICT, specialised activities and wholesale and retail trade.
Of the 423 cases notified in 2022, the six main countries of origin were the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, the Cayman Islands and Canada. Around 40% of notified applications came from countries other than the top six. In 2021, this percentage will be just 29%, reflecting the diversification of investment sources.
In its report, the Commission highlights the importance of the system in ensuring the European Union’s economic and industrial security, and welcomes the increase in its scope: currently, 21 of the 27 European States have introduced the system at national level.
See the report on investment screening: https://aeur.eu/f/956
With regard to exports of dual-use goods (which can be used for both civilian and military purposes), EU Member States blocked 560 export applications over the same period, representing just 0.6% of the total.
The main destinations for these exports of dual-use goods are the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Russia.
See the report on export controls: https://aeur.eu/f/957 (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)