Cooperation mechanism in relation to foreign direct investments undergoing screening

1. Member States shall notify the Commission and the other Member States of any foreign direct investment in their territory that is undergoing screening by providing the information referred to in Article 9(2) of this Regulation as soon as possible. The notification may include a list of Member States whose security or public order is deemed likely to be affected. As part of the notification, and where applicable, the Member State undertaking the screening shall endeavour to indicate whether it considers that the foreign direct investment undergoing screening is likely to fall within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 139/2004.

2. Where a Member State considers that a foreign direct investment undergoing screening in another Member State is likely to affect its security or public order, or has information relevant for such screening, it may provide comments to the Member State undertaking the screening. The Member State providing comments shall send those comments to the Commission simultaneously.

The Commission shall notify the other Member States that comments were provided.

3. Where the Commission considers that a foreign direct investment undergoing screening is likely to affect security or public order in more than one Member State, or has relevant information in relation to that foreign direct investment, it may issue an opinion addressed to the Member State undertaking the screening. The Commission may issue an opinion irrespective of whether other Member States have provided comments. The Commission may issue an opinion following comments from other Member States. The Commission shall issue such opinion where justified, after at least one third of Member States consider that a foreign direct investment is likely to affect their security or public order.

The Commission shall notify the other Member States that an opinion was issued.

4. A Member State which duly considers that a foreign direct investment in its territory is likely to affect its security or public order may request the Commission to issue an opinion or other Member States to provide comments.

5. The comments referred to in paragraph 2 and the opinions referred to in paragraph 3 shall be duly justified.

6. No later than 15 calendar days following the receipt of the information referred to in paragraph 1, other Member States and the Commission shall notify the Member State undertaking the screening of their intention to provide comments pursuant to paragraph 2 or an opinion pursuant to paragraph 3. The notification may include a request for additional information to the information referred to in paragraph 1.

Any request for additional information shall be duly justified, limited to information necessary to provide comments pursuant to paragraph 2 or to issue an opinion pursuant to paragraph 3, proportionate to the purpose of the request and not unduly burdensome for the Member State undertaking the screening. Requests for information and replies provided by Member States shall be sent to the Commission simultaneously.

7. Comments referred to in paragraph 2 or opinions referred to in paragraph 3 shall be addressed to the Member State undertaking the screening and shall be sent to it within a reasonable period of time, and in any case no later than 35 calendar days following receipt of the information referred to in paragraph 1.

Notwithstanding the first subparagraph, if additional information was requested pursuant to paragraph 6, such comments or opinions shall be issued no later than 20 calendar days following receipt of the additional information or the notification pursuant to Article 9(5).

Notwithstanding paragraph 6, the Commission may issue an opinion following comments from other Member States where possible within the deadlines referred to in this paragraph, and in any case no later than five calendar days after those deadlines have expired.

8. In the exceptional case where the Member State undertaking the screening considers that its security or public order requires immediate action, it shall notify the other Member States and the Commission of its intention to issue a screening decision before the timeframes referred to in paragraph 7 and duly justify the need for immediate action. The other Member States and the Commission shall endeavour to provide comments or to issue an opinion expeditiously.

9. The Member State undertaking the screening shall give due consideration to the comments of the other Member States referred to in paragraph 2 and to the opinion of the Commission referred to in paragraph 3. The final screening decision shall be taken by the Member State undertaking the screening.

10. Cooperation pursuant to this Article shall take place through the contact points established in accordance with Article 11.

REGULATION (EU) 2019/452 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 19 March 2019 establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union ANNEX Commission statement