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On 27th May 2020 the Austrian government submitted a proposal for a new foreign investment screening act (Investitionskontrollgesetz) to the Parliament (the "Proposal").
The Proposal seeks to tighten the currently applicable screening instruments for investments by non-EEA/non-Swiss investors, by broadening the the scope of foreign investments that need to undergo vetting. It also transposes the requirements under the EU Screening Regulation (see our article). Importantly, it will set in place the mechanism to enable the structured cooperation process between the European Commission (EC) and the Member States foreseen under the EU Screening Regulation.
The key elements of the Proposal are:
This includes (i) defence / defence technology, (ii) critical energy infrastructure, (iii) critical digital infrastructure (in particular 5G infrastructure), (iv) water, (v) systems that enable data sovereignty of the Republic of Austria, and (vi) medicines, vaccines, medical devices and personal protective equipment. For the latter, the 10 % threshold is temporarily introduced until 31 December 2022 in light of the COVID-19 emergency.
The Proposal is now in public consultation (until 12 June) and will then go through the parliamentary law-making process. Under the current schedule the new law is envisaged to enter into force at the latest by 11 October 2020 (deadline to transpose the EU Screening Regulation).
Volker
Weiss
Office Managing Partner
belgium / EU