The shift of the policy towards FDI in European Union: determinants and challenges

Abstract

Since 2016, a change in the policy on foreign direct investment (FDI) can be observed in the European Union. This change was significantly influenced by global processes, which resulted in a particular interest in direct investments carried out by transnational corporations from China, India or Russia. In particular, countries such as France, Germany and the United Kingdom, observed a significant increase in the number of mergers and acquisitions of domestic enterprises in 2010-2016. Therefore, in 2018 the process of creating a European Screening Mechanism was initiated, which entered into force in March 2019. At the same time, at the end of 2019, the outbreak of a COVID-19 virus pandemic stopped the process of further globalization by breaking global supply chains, and by restricting the flow of goods, people and capital. Keywords: FDI, screening mechanism, European Union, globalization, COVID-19.