EU establishes strengthened screening framework for foreign investments

The European Parliament and the Council have adopted a Regulation (17 June 2026) establishing a harmonised Union framework for the screening of foreign investments and repealing Regulation (EU) 2019/452.

• Main action: The Regulation requires all Member States to establish a screening mechanism and a cooperation mechanism; it creates a common minimum scope (including dual‑use and military goods, semiconductors, quantum technologies, certain AI technologies, strategic raw materials, voter registration and voting systems, and critical financial market infrastructure) and mandates prior authorisation for defined sensitive targets. Key timelines and implementation steps: initial review within 45 calendar days of a complete filing; the Regulation applies 18 months from entry into force (with specified provisions applying from entry into force); the Commission must establish a secure encrypted system and secure database within 12 months, and may set up an online EU portal at the request of at least nine Member States.
• Background & other details: The Regulation strengthens and harmonises the 2019 framework by extending scope to intra‑Union investments, requiring Member States to upload post‑procedure info to a secure database, enabling the Commission to issue opinions and propose mitigating measures, mandating annual reporting at national and Union level, and scheduling a formal evaluation by the Commission in 4 years and 6 months. It also includes a reporting threshold where a Union target that received EUR 750 000 or more in Union grants in the preceding five years must be flagged in notifications.