《欧盟外商直接投资审查条例》出台的背景、规则和应对

Background and Rules of the Regulation of the Framework for Screening Foreign Direct Investment into the EU and China’s Countermeasures

近期的中美贸易摩擦与之前的贸易摩擦不同,向贸易议题之外延伸,触及到投资等议题,其中最突出的就是美国于2018年通过并生效的《2018年外国投资风险审查现代化法案》,改革了美国外资安全审查制度。几乎同一时间,欧盟议会和欧洲理事会于2019年3月19日通过了《欧盟外商直接投资审查条例》。中国企业在欧盟的投资并购潮流使得欧洲企业有失去竞争优势之虞,各欧盟成员国也存在不同程度的“安全与公共秩序威胁”隐忧。同时,全球各国投资政策收紧既给欧盟的经济发展带来压力,也为欧盟立法提供了参考。美国外资并购国家安全审查制度的修改在为欧盟确立本地区的投资审查制度提供借鉴的同时与欧盟的制度设计又有较大不同。在这一条例颁布后,中国企业对欧盟投资准入受到进一步限制,中国企业对欧盟投资不确定性将增强。中国企业需在交易前进行全面的风险评估,同时交易时在协议中设置“风险负担条款”,从而最大程度防范交易后的风险。

Different from the previous ones,the recent trade frictions between China and the US extend beyond the trade issues to investment issues.A typical example is the adoption of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018(FIRRMA 2018)by the US in 2018,which has reformed the security review of the foreign investment in the US.Almost at the same time,the European Parliament and the Council adopted the regulation of the Framework for Screening Foreign Direct Investment into the EU(the Regulation)on March 19th,2019.Chinese companies’investment and acquisition in the EU has raised the concern that it may result in the loss of competitive advantages of European companies,and as a result,EU members will be exposed,to different degrees,to the“menace to security and public order”.The tightened investment policies of different countries provide reference for EU’s legislation,though they may impose pressure on the economic development of EU.The US amendment of security review system for foreign acquisition can serve as reference for the EU legislation on the screening of FDI,but the latter is largely different from the former in the institutional design.After the Regulations was published,Chinese investment in the EU will be further restricted and as a result the uncertainty will increase.The full risk assessment is required before the transaction,and also the“clause on the burden of risk”should be included in the transaction agreement,so as to prevent the post-transaction risk to the greatest extent.