Annual EU Report Shows FDI Reviews Remain Steady
The EU continued to largely approve most foreign direct investment deals submitted to its investment review cooperation mechanism, the European Commission said in its annual report on FDI, released this week.
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Out of the 477 cases that member states notified the commission of in 2024, 92% were closed within two weeks, while just 8% required an "in-depth security risk assessment," about the same percentage reported last year (see 2410180034). The commission issued an opinion -- which occurs when the bloc thinks an investment may affect EU security -- on less than 2% of those notified transactions.
Spain, Austria, Italy and France were responsible for 76% of the notifications, the report said. Most involved investments in the manufacturing (25%), information communications technology (22%), wholesale and retail (14%), financial activities (10%) and professional activities (9%) sectors.
The U.S. continued to be the main foreign investor into the EU in 2024, accounting for 40% of all acquisitions, while the U.K. accounted for 11%, continuing similar trends from the previous year.
The report also noted that the EU continues to study the possibility of outbound investment restrictions, including for the semiconductor, AI and quantum technology industries (see 2501150061). It said member states should review past and ongoing outbound investments of companies in those sectors, collect information about any potential risks and security concerns of those outbound investments, and "consider appropriate policy responses."