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This is a legislation that France and Germany have been calling for for a long time: the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg has given the green light to put in place a European framework for the control of foreign investments in the EU. This text is intended to respond to Member States' concerns about foreign acquisitions, particularly Chinese ones, which have multiplied in strategic sectors.
At a time when the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei is worrying several European countries , this filtering system is going in the right direction, says EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström: " The European Union wants to remain open to investment, it is essential for our growth, our jobs, our competitiveness, but to remain open, we must be able to trust foreign investors, that they do not pose a threat to our own strategic interests and to our security "
It is done ! ✅
My report on the filtering of foreign direct investment has been adopted.
A new stone for the building of a Europe that protects and finally comes out of its naivety! #POLDE #FDI pic.twitter.com/2EVyCe5ssF
The text invites states to provide information on future foreign investment, if " public order or security is concerned ". Its scope will be limited, since the final decision to invest or not remains the responsibility of the State. But for the rapporteur of the text, the right-wing MEP Franck Proust, it is a big step forward: " It is simply to watch, pay attention to so-called strange investments, that is to say, those who do not respond to a economic logic, but a political logic. The Member State in which the investment will take place will remain the sole decision maker. But what we are going to bring to the Member State is a decision aid. We have gone from the law of silence to the law of dialogue ".
Among the sectors concerned by this new regulation: artificial intelligence, robotics, telecommunications, energy, media, water, health or even food security.