But the EU executive faces skepticism from member countries, which are concerned about the scope of the strategy, the additional administrative burden it would impose on companies, and the extra resources needed to carry out the checks. EU capitals are generally reluctant to share such sensitive information with Brussels, while some still don’t yet have a legal basis to track this data.
The Commission is now looking to “conduct, jointly with the EU Member States, in-depth reviews into risks identified,” according to the document, which helped guide a discussion among European ambassadors on May 24 regarding the next steps for the work within the Council of the EU.
This extra step would then help inform which data EU capitals should collect from their stakeholders, such as which transactions should be screened, and over what time period.
The idea was already floated in a strategy paper on outbound investments, issued by the Commission at the end of January.
Meanwhile, an exact timeline for the future of the strategy is still in limbo. The Commission has yet to issue guidelines to EU countries on which data to monitor regarding outbound investments — a step expected this summer.
“We are in the process of reviewing the contributions received in the framework of the public consultation,” said a Commission spokesperson.
“In parallel, we continue our discussions with member states and stakeholders with a view to preparing the Commission recommendation and the subsequent steps.”
Pieter Haeck contributed reporting.
