Geoffrey Van Orden, rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. – Mr President, I would like to thank the Commissioner for her remarks. The interest in this foreign direct investment (FDI) screenings framework arose, of course, from concerns about external investors buying technologies in our European countries which could be used for their own strategic objectives, while they themselves maintain barriers for investments from European countries.

We’re pleased that the draft regulation agreed in trilogue recognises that it is the sole responsibility of Member States to safeguard their national security. It’s important, therefore, that individual Member States retain responsibility for setting up screening mechanisms for FDI on grounds of security and to cover critical infrastructure and sensitive technologies. These now specifically include, among other categories, aerospace and defence facilities and nano and bio technologies. There is also a need to consider whether a foreign investor is directly or indirectly controlled by government or its state bodies or armed forces, including through the ownership structure.

So this is a difficult and complex area and I might just – somewhat mischievously and separately – remark that while today we’re considering only FDI into the Union, some of the considerations should also perhaps apply to activities within the Union, particularly investment in assets in one Member State by state-controlled assets in another. But that’s another matter.