Within the EU, the legal dimension of trade in goods and, more recently, of trade in services have gained clear contours. This is less true for cross-border direct investments. Within the system of the fundamental freedoms, cross-border direct investments may fall within the scope of the freedom of establishment (Art 49 TFEU, 43EC), the free movement of capital (Art 63 TFEU, 56EC) and sometimes the freedom to provide services (Art 56 TFEU, 49EC). The free movement of capital has been the last fundamental freedom to be endowed with direct effect. The investment potential of Sovereign Wealth Funds makes this a very topical subject. The ECJ has started to develop the full potential of the free movement of capital and the freedom of establishment only recently. This has raised a number of important new questions, including how the two freedoms relate to each other, and how to balance the individuals' rights to market access with the Member States' competence to regulate in the public interest. In particular, the use of state measures to protect strategic or alleged public interests selectively, or to foster national champions, will be considered. Under settled case law, it suffices that a measure renders the exercise of the freedom 'less attractive' to find an infringement of the free movement rules. Potentially this opens the door for a broad review of the appropriateness of all non-harmonised mandatory rules contained in general national laws. There is also a general question of when free movement of capital and freedom of establishment may have horizontal effect, a matter raised by the Viking case. Horizontal application of the fundamental freedoms could lead to the exercise of control over private arrangements in many areas, including company law if they have a tendency to impede, or dissuade, market access by investors from other Member States. The particular situation of third country investors also has to be considered, insofar as they may benefit from the free movement of capital but not from the establishment and services freedoms. Recent developments in EU company law are discussed, notably those concerning simple cross-border relocation of businesses as well as those regulating take-over and mergers. Overall the book analyses the role of the market and the role of the state with regard to direct investment, delineates the competences of the EU and the Member States in this field and places the debate in the larger context of international direct investment. Focussing on recent developments, cases and debates, the book also looks at the changes made to the applicable rules by the Treaty of Lisbon, including the inclusion of foreign direct investment into the Community's trade policy, thus providing an overview of this cutting-edge issue and a reflection on the rationales that should guide the evolution of this field of law. This title is included in Bloomsbury Professional's International Arbitration online service.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from third countries—a desirable form of investment to boost the EU’s economy or a threat to important EU and Member State interests that must be mitigated via FDI screening mechanisms? FDI screening is a complex, controversial and highly topical subject at the intersection of law, politics and economics. This book analyzes the political rationale behind FDI screening in the EU, reveals the legal limitations of current FDI screening mechanisms based on security and public order, and identifies legislative options for broader screening mechanisms in accordance with EU and international economic law. In particular, the book identifies the four main concerns in the EU regarding FDI from third countries: distortive competition effects; the lack of reciprocity on FDI treatment between the EU and the investor’s home country; objectives of the investor or their home country that may be detrimental to EU interests; and safety of private information. On this basis, the book analyzes the Screening Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/452) and its newly introduced screening ground “security or public order” and asks whether this and other similar screening grounds based on the notions of security, public order and public policy can address these concerns with regard to foreign investors. Based on an analysis of WTO law and EU primary law, it argues that they cannot. Thus, the question arises: Do the EU and Member States have the flexibility to adopt broader FDI screening mechanisms? To answer this question, the book examines the freedoms of capital movement and establishment in EU primary law, as well as various sources of international economic law such as, first and foremost, the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services, but also other bi- and plurilateral trade and investment treaties, including the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment. In closing, the book identifies various legislative options for broader FDI screening mechanisms—and their shortcomings.

The Treaty of Lisbon (2009) has brought foreign direct investment (FDI) within the scope of the European Union's common commercial policy (CCP). In light of this development, this book analyses the internal and external dimension of EU law and policy in the field of FDI. It takes four perspectives: (i) the operation of the internal market mechanism to direct investment; (ii) the implications of the Lisbon amendments to the CCP under Article 207 TFEU for the Union's competence and practice in the field of FDI; (iii) the interaction between EU law and Member States' bilateral investment treaties (BITs) with third countries; (iv) the interplay between EU law and BITs that are currently in force between two Member States (intra-EU BITs). The book focuses on the extent to which the European Union operates as a Single Market for EU and non-EU investors. In doing so, it analyses the EU and international regulatory framework on the admission, treatment and protection of FDI within, to and from the Single European Market. It uses close jurisprudential analysis and examines the context, purpose and evolution of EU legal integration in the field of FDI. It thereby traces the principles underlying the European international economic order in the field of FDI.

The implementation of the Lisbon Treaty is profoundly changing many areas of EU law and policy. This volume gathers leading specialists in the field to analyse the implementation process and the directions of legal reform post-Lisbon, situating the Lisbon reforms in the broader context of on-going policy programmes.

The Achmea judgment revolutionised intra-EU investment protection by declaring intra-EU bilateral investment treaties (intra-EU BITs) incompatible with EU law. This incisive book investigates whether intra-EU foreign investments benefit from this alteration, which discontinued the parallel applicability of intra-EU BITs and EU law in the EU internal market. In addition to comparative legal analysis from an investor perspective, Dominik Moskvan puts forward a proposal for a creation of a permanent intra-EU foreign investment court to ensure a balanced economic development of the EU internal market.

The regulation of foreign investment represents one of the most topical and controversial subjects in European Union law and international investment law. EU foreign investment law is emerging as a critically important issue, particularly since the introduction of EU competence over foreign direct investment after the Lisbon Treaty and the recent successful challenge of the compatibility of Member States Bilateral Investment Treaties with EU law. Within this framework, the book sets out to identify whether and to what extent the EU has become an international actor in the field of foreign investment. Exploring the existing legal framework on the scope and exercise of EU competence and its legal effects, it examines the foundations upon which EU investment policy is based and will be based in the future. The book addresses questions relating to the definition of foreign investment; the scope of EU competences; the exercise of EU powers; the substantive content of existing and future EU International Investment Agreements; and the objectives of EU investment policy and its EU law effects. From this grounding, the study widens to scrutinize the influence that the EU exerts on international law and regulation of foreign investment. Paying careful attention to the substantive content and orientation of EU International Investment Agreements, the book takes a comparative approach to the content of Bilateral Investment Treaties, as well as to the ramifications of EU foreign investment regulation for international law, especially with regard to the EU's international responsibility. Taking into account the recent developments in the field, this book provides the first comprehensive treatment of the legal, practical, and political concerns that the creation of an EU common investment policy creates.

This incisive book provides key interdisciplinary perspectives on the current challenges faced by EU policymakers in framing and implementing a coherent European industrial policy, employing specific case studies from the digital, automotive, steel and defence industries as well as concrete examples of EU policies.