Germany is continuing to tighten its FDI regime: A current amendment to the German Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (AWV) brings new filing obligations for several case groups. The AWV amendment clearly focuses on the health sector as a direct consequence of the COVID-19-pandemic. It aims to contribute to the permanent maintenance of a functioning health care system in the Federal Republic of Germany. The Government emphasizes that this draft will be followed by an additional AWV amendment in the course of 2020, inter alia triggered by the EU Screening Regulation, where an expansion of the critical infrastructures is expected.
The AWV amendment is the second step within an ongoing change and tightening of the German FDI regime, following an draft amendment of the underlying Foreign Trade Act (dated 8 April 2020, being currently under parliamentary discussion and which we summarize again below).
The amendment has been passed by the German Federal Government passed today / 20 May 2020.
Investors must be aware that the German FDI regime will continue to grow in its significance. In the light of the recent amendments, the filing obligations are expanded, the standstill obligation extended and the intervention threshold lowered. Each transaction with a German angle must be analysed thoroughly to understand potential filing obligations and to initiate all required steps in due time to avoid any delay.
For more information, please click here for our detailed briefing.
Contacts
Disclaimer
The articles published on this website, current at the dates of publication set out above, are for reference purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Specific legal advice about your specific circumstances should always be sought separately before taking any action.