New EU regulation on the screening of foreign investments
16 July, 2026
Regulation (EU) 2026/1386 establishes a harmonised and mandatory framework for the screening of foreign investments in the Union and replaces the previous Regulation (EU) 2019/452. Among its most notable new features are the obligation for all Member States to have a national screening mechanism with harmonised minimum requirements; the inclusion within its scope of investments made by European subsidiaries controlled by third-country investors; the implementation of a two-stage national procedure; and the strengthening of the European cooperation mechanism through a risk-screening system and a more stringent “comply or explain” principle.
Finally, the paper analyses the regulation’s impact on Spain, whose current review mechanism must be adapted in areas such as procedural structure, the review of completed transactions, sectoral expansion, and the penalty regime by 17 January 2028.
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