The National Security and Investment Act (“NSI Act”) came into force this week, completing the overhaul of the UK’s foreign investment rules and creating a standalone foreign investment screening regime. The new rules require businesses and investors to submit mandatory notifications for certain acquisitions of and investments in companies operating in 17 key sectors. The rules also grant the UK Government extensive powers to investigate and impose conditions on a wide range of transactions, including…
On 21 December 2021, the Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) issued its judgment in Bank Melli Iran (C-124/20), which we have previously written about here. The judgment relates to the application of the EU Blocking Regulation (Regulation (EC) No 2271/96). The Blocking Regulation prohibits EU businesses from complying with certain extraterritorial US sanctions targeting Iran and Cuba. In many Member States, breaches of the Blocking Regulation can expose you to criminal penalties, albeit…
Earlier in December 2021, the UK Government announced a package of new measures with the aim of updating the export control regime in the UK. In particular, this includes the following aspects: i. New Strategic Export Licensing Criteria A revised version of the licensing criteria for strategic export controls has been laid before Parliament (known as the Strategic Export Licensing Criteria). This will be applied with immediate effect, and will impact all licensing decisions as…
On 15 December 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the challenges and prospects for multilateral weapons of mass destruction arms control and disarmament regimes. The resolution calls for the EU to play a strong role, and for member states to show continuous support, in all major disarmament treaties and non-proliferation regimes. The resolution states that renewed global arms control and disarmament efforts are essential to the EU’s security, amid concerns that key arms…