Regulation (EU) 2026/1386

In force

This text since 26 Jun 2026law://eu/reg/2026/1386/art_4__para_15@2026-11-12

Contents

15.Each Member State shall ensure that its screening mechanism imposes a prior authorisation requirement for foreign investments where the Union target established in its territory:

(a)develops, produces or commercialises items listed in Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2021/821;

(b)develops, produces or commercialises goods or technology listed in the Annex to Directive 2009/43/EC;

(c)produces, conducts research in or develops semiconductor or quantum technologies referred to in Annex I to this Regulation, or conducts research in or develops artificial intelligence technologies referred to in that Annex;

(d)is active in the transport, energy or digital infrastructure sectors and is considered critical pursuant to a risk-based targeted assessment that takes into account national security and vital societal functions in light of the essential services provided by that Union target and that is performed by the Member State in which that Union target is established;

(e)exercises, as regards any strategic raw materials listed in Section I of Annex I to Regulation (EU) 2024/1252, activities of exploration, extraction, processing, recycling or recovery as defined in Article 2 of that Regulation, or of stockpiling;

(f)constitutes one of the following entities:

(i)a central counterparty, namely a ‘CCP’ as defined in Article 2, point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council^note;

(ii)a central securities depository, as defined in Article 2(1), point (1), of Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council^note;

(iii)an operator of regulated markets, within the meaning of Article 4(1), point (18), and Article 4(1), point (21), of Directive 2014/65/EU;

(iv)an operator of payment systems, withing the meaning of Article 2, point (a), of Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council^note, and designated as such pursuant to Article 10(1) of that Directive, with the exclusion of payment systems operated by central banks;

(v)any other systemically important institution within the meaning of Article 131(3) of Directive 2013/36/EU;

(vi)a global provider of specialised financial messaging services; or

(g)owns, develops or operates voter registration databases, voting systems and other information systems specifically designed to manage electoral operations such as the counting, auditing, and displaying of election results, and post-election reporting to certify and validate results.

Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.

Key facts

Type: Regulation · (EU) 2026/1386
Adopted: 17 Jun 2026
In force: 16 Jul 2026
Applies from: 17 Jan 2028
Made by: Council of the European Union, European Parliament
Official: EUR-Lex 32026R1386 · ELI

Topics

direct investment EU Member State European security financial control financial legislation foreign capital foreign investment public order third country threat to national security Investments

History · 1 version

26 Jun 2026Reading

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Cited by 1: this act3 provisions

Defined terms · 21

Show every defined term

beneficial owner
means:
completion
means the point in time at which the last condition precedent has been met in relation to an investment decision by the parties to a foreign investment transaction;
contact point
means the person or entity designated by a Member State to send and receive all communication through the cooperation mechanism, including notifications and exchanges of information related to foreign investments covered by this Regulation;
filing
means an initial submission to the screening authority of all information or documentation required under the screening mechanism, including, where applicable, a complete request for authorisation;
foreign investment
means an investment of any kind, carried out either by a foreign investor itself or through a foreign investor’s subsidiary in the Union, aiming to establish or to maintain lasting and direct links between the foreign investor and a Union target, to which the foreign investor makes capital available in order to carry out an economic activity in a Member State, enabling effective participation in the management or control of that Union target;
foreign investor
means:
greenfield investment
means a foreign investment carried out through the establishment of new facilities or of an undertaking for the performance of an economic activity in the Union;
host Member State
means the Member State in which a foreign investment is planned to be or is completed;
internal restructuring
means a reorganisation of a corporate group to which a Union target belongs, which does not result in a change of the beneficial owner of the Union target;
mitigating measure
means any condition imposed by a Member State in order to resolve the likely negative effect on security or public order arising from a foreign investment;
multi-country notification
means a notification sent through the cooperation mechanism by each of the Member States concerned with regard to a multi-country transaction;
multi-country transaction
means a foreign investment subject to screening mechanisms in two or more Member States;
notifying Member State
means a Member State that has notified a foreign investment through the cooperation mechanism pursuant to Article 5;
opaque ownership structure
means an arrangement in which the ownership or control of an entity is unclear, concealed or difficult to ascertain due to, inter alia, the use of complex legal structures, multiple layers of ownership, nominee shareholders, or other mechanisms that obscure the identity of the beneficial owner;
request for authorisation
means a submission under a screening mechanism of a request to authorise a foreign investment subject to a prior authorisation requirement;
screening
means a procedure through which a host Member State can investigate, assess, authorise, authorise subject to mitigating measures, prohibit or unwind foreign investments on the grounds of security or public order;
screening authorities
means the authority or authorities designated by a Member State to carry out screening;
screening decision
means a measure adopted by a screening authority pursuant to a screening mechanism which results in the authorisation, authorisation subject to mitigating measures, prohibition or unwinding of a foreign investment;
screening mechanism
means a legal instrument of general application and accompanying administrative requirements, implementing rules or guidelines, that set out the terms, conditions and procedures for screening;
stockpiling
means storing a quantity of a particular raw material for future use, including in anticipation of possible shortages.
Union target
means an undertaking established or intended to be established under the laws of a Member State;