EU Reaches Provisional Deal on Screening Foreign Investment in Defense, AI, and Critical Infrastructure

The European Union EU has reached a provisional agreement on comprehensive new rules requiring all member states to screen foreign investments in sensitive sectors, marking a significant tightening of the bloc's economic security measures. The deal, announced Thursday, represents a major revision of existing Foreign Direct Investment screening regulations and reflects growing concerns about strategic dependencies and foreign control of critical technologies.

Representatives of the European Parliament and the Council, the grouping of EU governments, reached agreement on a text that will require all EU countries to screen and possibly block investments if they pose a security risk. The revision extends screening to investments within the EU if the investor is controlled by a foreign company, closing a significant loophole in the current framework.