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Investeringsscreeningsloven creates Denmark's first horizontal cross-sector statutory FDI screening regime, replacing the previous sectoral patchwork (defence-procurement vetting under the Forsvarsministeriet, ad-hoc energy concessions, etc.) with a single authorising authority and a single legal base. Four operating axes:
1. Two-track scope. - Mandatory authorisation in five enumerated "particularly sensitive sectors": (i) defence-sector undertakings; (ii) manufacturers, suppliers and developers of dual-use items (EU Reg 2021/821 Annex I); (iii) IT-security functions and processing of classified information; (iv) critical technology (defined by Bekendtgørelse — including AI, biotech, quantum, robotics, semiconductors, energy-storage, hypersonics); (v) critical infrastructure (energy, ICT, financial, transport, water, health, food supply, emergency services). - Voluntary notification for foreign investments and "special economic agreements" (long-term supply, JV, operations, service contracts conferring influence) in other sectors, where investors can opt-in to obtain legal certainty against ex-post call-in.
2. Triggers. Mandatory regime: acquisition of ≥10% of voting rights / capital, or "similar control" (board seats, veto rights, golden-share-style governance). Voluntary regime: typically engaged at the 25%+ threshold for FDI; lower thresholds for special economic agreements with material influence.
3. Process. Pre-closing application to Erhvervsstyrelsen for the mandatory regime; standard review period of 60 working days, extendable in a second-phase national-security assessment co-ordinated across relevant ministries (Justice, Defence, Foreign Affairs, Climate/Energy, Industry). DBA may impose mitigating conditions, require divestiture of board seats, restrict access to sensitive information, or — in the limit — block the transaction.
4. Enforcement. Non-notification of a mandatory-regime transaction is a criminal offence (Act § 21) punishable by fines and imprisonment of up to 1 year and 6 months in the default scale; aggravating circumstances can elevate the sanction. DBA can issue suspension and unwinding orders.
horizontal FDI screening instrument and the sole statutory base for Denmark's compliance with EU Reg 2019/452 cooperation mechanism obligations. Subsequent sectoral or technology- specific tightenings (Greenland critical-minerals projects, North Sea energy concessions, GCC arms-export licensing) operate alongside but not under it — the Act is the parent reviewing general FDI flows into Danish sensitive-sector firms.
FR Décret 2014-479 / UK NSI Act 2021 / NL Wet Vifo / IT Golden Power / ES Ley 19/2003 art 7bis / SE FDI Act.** Brings Denmark into structural parity with the other Western FDI-screening regimes; material because Denmark hosts Orsted (offshore wind), Vestas (wind turbines), Novo-Nordisk (GLP-1 / biotech), Maersk (global container logistics + Copenhagen), Demant (hearing health), and is a top-10 EU FDI host with a major North Sea energy + Greenland critical-minerals + Danish-arms-export exposure.
flexible voluntary regime.** Among the more granular Western FDI regimes, with explicit critical-technology and IT-security carve-outs predating the broader EU CRA / NIS2 transposition cluster. Voluntary regime gives DBA optional ex-post review authority on otherwise non-notifiable deals — a "soft" call-in power.
the Danish regime is younger, has issued few high-profile prohibitions to date, and operates within a smaller deal market. Recent enforcement statistics published by Erhvervsstyrelsen show majority-approve outcomes with conditions, not outright blocks.
uranium) — any non-EU acquisition or controlling stake in a Danish-Greenlandic JV company falls within the mandatory regime via the critical-infrastructure / critical-technology limbs. Sits alongside the 2025-01-31 Greenland Mineral Resources Strategy 2025-2029 (filed) and 2024-01-01 Greenland Mining Act No 27 (filed) as the foreign-investor entry-screening layer.
Infrastructure Partners portfolio companies) — covered by both the critical-infrastructure limb (energy) and the critical-technology limb. Foreign sovereign-wealth and state-aligned investors must clear the mandatory regime before acquiring blocking minorities. The 2024/1 LSF 193 amendment adapts the procedure to allow approval applications during ongoing offshore-wind / large energy public-tender procedures rather than only post-award.
EU FDI Cooperation Mechanism (Reg 2019/452), triggering opinions from other Member States and the Commission. Will need re-calibration once 2025-12-11-eu-fdi-screening-regulation- revision-political-agreement (filed) becomes a Regulation with mandatory-screening minimum.
(Terma, Weibel Scientific, GomSpace) are covered by the defence-sector limb; their foreign acquirers must clear DBA before closing. Material to GCC / Saudi / UAE direct investment flows given Denmark's recent defence-export tightening.
March 2025) is currently in parliamentary process — file as an amendments[] row once the resulting Lov nr is gazetted on retsinformation.dk.
was reportedly issued in 2023 (LBK nr 1256 of 14 November 2023 — unconfirmed in this filing); confirm the LBK reference number and link it to the source URL via a future filing-loop pass.
specific Bekendtgørelse defining the critical-technology categories was issued separately under the Act and should be located on retsinformation.dk (BEK nr ___ af 2021); track for a separate child filing if material.
aggregate FDI-screening statistics in Danish; pull the 2023 / 2024 / 2025 numbers to calibrate the empirical block-vs-approve ratio and refine severity weighting.