Foreign Investment: EU able to protect core industries

Europe will no longer lag behind when it comes to filtering foreign investment into core industries. The European Parliament and the Member States reached a trilogue agreement today on the future EU Regulation on foreign investment. "Global competition is fierce. It is good news, therefore, that Europe now has the means to protect its core industries", said Franck Proust MEP who is the European Parliament Rapporteur.

"The US, China, and Canada have filter systems for foreign investment, and so have 13 EU Member States. There has been no such instrument at EU level thus far, however, and this is now going to change. We badly need it as our economies are mutually interdependent, and any investment tends to affect European partners too", said the EPP Group MEP.

The scope of the future EU Regulation comprises a broad range of technologies and infrastructures from aerospace to food safety, media and e-batteries. "We do need foreign investment, but what we do not want is investment that increases EU countries' dependence", Proust concluded.