The Greek Law on Strategic Investments in Light of the FDI Screening Regulation: Will the Greek Investment Regime’s Openness Endure?

PDF (English)
Опубликован: Jun 29, 2022
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/hapscpbs.30991
Dionysis N. Fotopoulos
National & Kapodistrian University of Athens
Аннотация

Attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is vital for Greece’s growth in the aftermath of a lengthy economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic. Concurrently, the European Union (EU) seeks to safeguard essential bloc-wise security interests that are compromised by third country investors, especially Chinese ones, sprawling across member states – a policy concern substantiated in normative text as recently as 2019 by the enactment of Regulation 2019/452. The latter set the basic pan-European contour in terms of member states’ cooperation for the screening of FDI. A year later, the Greek Parliament voted for Law 4864/2021 on Strategic Investments, with a view to incentivizing aspiring high-profile investors. In that regard, the main objective of the present policy paper is to examine how Law 4864/2021 interplays with Regulation 2019/452. The paper will conclude that the Greek liberalized framework will have to align in the future with the European trend of extended screening over FDI, notwithstanding Law 4864/2021 moving into the opposite direction.

Article Details
  • Раздел
  • Articles
Лицензия Creative Commons

Это произведение доступно по лицензии Creative Commons «Attribution» («Атрибуция») 4.0 Всемирная.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Скачивания
Данные скачивания пока недоступны.
Биография автора
Dionysis N. Fotopoulos, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens

Law Student at the National & Kapodistrian University of Athens.

Библиографические ссылки
Broome, A. (2014). Issues and Actors in the Global Political Economy. Palgrave Macmillan.
Carcy, L. (2021). The new EU screening mechanism for foreign direct investments: When the EU takes back control. Bruges Political Research Papers No 84, Department of European Political and Governance Studies, College of Europe.
Chan, Z.T., & Meunier, S. (2021). Behind the screen: Understanding national support for a foreign investment screening mechanism in the European Union. The Review of International Organizations.
Dolzer, R., & Schreuer, C. (2012). Principles of International Investment Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
European Commission (2020). Communication from the Commission: Guidance to the Member States concerning foreign direct investment and free movement of capital from third countries, and the protection of Europe’s strategic assets, ahead of the application of Regulation (EU) 2019/452.
European Commission. (2021a). Press release: EU foreign investment screening mechanism becomes fully operational. Available at: https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/index.cfm?id=2187 (Accessed: 14/05/2022).
European Commission. (2021b). First Annual Report on the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union. Available at: https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2021/november/tradoc_159935.pdf (Accessed: 14/05/2022).
European Parliament and Council of the European Union (2019). Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of the European parliament and of the council of 19 March 2019 establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the union. Official Journal of the European Union, no. LI 79: 1–14.
European Union. (2007). Treaty of Lisbon Amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty Establishing the European Community. Treaty full text. European Union, December 13. Available at: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A12007L%2FTXT (Accessed: 14/05/2022).
Gadocha, P.M. (2020). Assessing the EU Framework Regulation for the Screening of Foreign Direct Investment—What Is the Effect on Chinese Investors?. The Chinese Journal of Global Governance, 6: 36-70.
Government Gazette 237/A/2-12-2021 (2021). Law 4864/2021 on Strategic Investments and improvement of investment climate through the expedition of processes for private and strategic investments, creation of framework for startups and other urgent provisions for development. Hellenic Parliament’s Publications Department. [in Greek]
Government Gazette 31/A/28-2-2021. (2021). Law 4781/2021 on the organization and function of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Council for the Greeks Abroad, regulation of issues re. international cooperation for development and humanitarian assistance, and other provisions. Hellenic Parliament’s Publications Department. [in Greek]
Hellenic Republic (2020). A Plan for the Growth of the Greek Economy. Available at: https://government.gov.gr/schedio-anaptixis-gia-tin-elliniki-ikonomia/ (Accessed: 14/05/2022) [in Greek]
Hindelang, S. & Moberg, A. (2020). A Complex Setting of Cooperation and (Potential) Conflict: Regulation (EU) 2019/452 in a Doctrinal Perspective. In: S. Hindelang & A. Moberg (eds.), YSEC Yearbook of Socio-Economic Constitutions. London: Springer.
HRADF (2016). Press Release: Cosco (Hong Kong) Group Limited 51% Shareholder of Piraeus Port Authority. Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund. Available at: https://hradf.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%BF%CE%BA%CE%BB%CE%AE%CF%81%CF%89%CF%83%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%B5%CF%84%CE%B1%CE%B2%CE%AF%CE%B1%CE%B2%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B7%CF%82-%CE%9F%CE%9B%CE%A0.pdf (Accessed: 14/05/2022).
HRADF (2021). Press Release: Completion of the transfer of another 16% of the Pireaus Port Authority to COSCO SHIPPING (Hong Kong) Co., Limited. Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund. Available at: https://hradf.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/metabibashmetoxwnolp071021.pdf (Accessed: 14/05/2022).
IME GSVEE (2019). Report of IME GSVEE 2019 on small and medium enterprises. IME GSVEE. Available at: https://imegsevee.gr/wpcontent/uploads/2019/04/%CE%88%CE%BA%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%83%CE%B7%CE%99%CE%9C%CE%95%CE%93%CE%A3%CE%95%CE%92%CE%95%CE%95-2019-%CE%9C%CE%BC%CE%95.pdf (Accessed: 14/05/2022) [in Greek]
Moosa, I.A. (2002). Foreign Direct Investment: Theory, Evidence and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan.
OECD (2020). FDI stocks (indicator). Available at: https://data.oecd.org/fdi/fdi-stocks.htm#indicator-chart (Accessed: 14/05/2022).
OECD (2022). FDI restrictiveness (indicator). Available at: https://data.oecd.org/fdi/fdi-restrictiveness.htm (Accessed: 14/05/2022).
Qianqian, L., & Davarinou, P. (2019). Sino-Greek Economic Cooperation: COSCO’s Investment in the Port of Piraeus. In G. Sen, M. Leach & J. Gu (eds.), The Belt and Road Initiative and the SDGs: Towards equitable, sustainable development. IDS Bulletin.
SEV Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV). (2020). Greece is back through innovation. Special Report No 68 – Innovation & Investments. Available at: https://www.sev.org.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021-11-29_SR_ReinventingGreece-1.pdf (Accessed: 14/05/2022) [in Greek].
Tonchev, P. (2020). Sino-Greek relations: Necessity to be set within the correct context. In E. Athanasopoulou, Ch. Tsardanidis, & E. Fakiolos (eds.) Greek Foreign Policy: Choices & Expectations in the 21st Century. Papazisis Publications [in Greek].
Tsitouras, A., Mitrakos, P., Tsimpida, C., Vlachos, V., & Bitzenis, A. (2019). An Investigation into the Causal Links Among FDI Determinants: Empirical Evidence from Greece. Journal of East-West Business, 26: 17-55.
Vargiu, P. (2020). Foreign Investment Screening in Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece. In S. Hindelang & A. Moberg (eds.) YSEC Yearbook of Socio-Economic Constitutions. Springer.