Foreign Investment Control Regime in Slovenia – One Step Over the Edge
Abstract
After a relatively liberal period for foreign direct investment in the Republic of Slovenia, the enactment of the Act Determining the Intervention Measures to Mitigate and Remedy the Consequences of the COVID-19 Epidemic in May 2020 ushered in a significant change. It is not entirely clear why the government, while drafting the bill, decided to place the regulation of control over foreign direct investment under the intervention measures law, which addresses the consequences of the epidemic. A substantive analysis of the new arrangements for screening and controlling foreign direct investment reveals that the legislation was not carefully drafted. The definition of basic concepts and validity of the unique system for persons from the EU member states are already controversial. The Act is awkwardly drafted in terms of specifying a direct capital investment in the form of acquiring a share in a company with its registered office in the Republic of Slovenia. The conditions and procedure for revoking the consent authorising foreign direct investment are poorly regulated. Additionally, interpreting the Act to mean that the revocation of foreign direct investment can also be applied to foreign investments made before it came into force, that is, with a retroactive effect, is extremely controversial.
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