Foreign Investment & National Security
12. EU mandatory FDI screening regulation approved — 18-month member-state implementation clock starts
The European Parliament approved the revised EU FDI Screening Regulation in its May 2026 plenary session (508 votes in favour).
BY GEOPOLITICS DESK · JUNE 4, 2026 · 1 MIN READ
The European Parliament approved the revised EU FDI Screening Regulation in its May 2026 plenary session (508 votes in favour). The regulation mandates screening for all 27 member states in sensitive sectors: defence, semiconductors, AI, critical raw materials, financial services, and electoral infrastructure. It covers intra-EU transactions where the ultimate investor is non-EU, closing a significant previous gap. The regulation awaits formal Council publication; once in the Official Journal, member states have 18 months to align national legislation, meaning mandatory application is unlikely before late 2027. Cross-border M&A counsel should begin updating deal-triage protocols for EU targets in sensitive sectors to include beneficial-ownership analysis of investor chains and prepare for a significantly expanded EU FDI notification landscape by 2028.
| EU Perspectives — EU ends "era of naivety"