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On 13 October 2026, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie – “BMWE”) presented its draft act for a standalone Foreign Direct Investment Screening Act (Investitionsprüfungsgesetz – “IPG”) and a new Foreign Direct Investment Screening Ordinance (Investitionsprüfungsverordnung – “IPV”). The most comprehensive reform of German foreign direct investment (“FDI”) screening law since the 2021 aims at consolidating the provisions scattered across the Foreign Trade and Payments Act (AWG) and the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance (AWV), streamlining the process, and at the same time implementing the requirements of the EU Screening Regulation (EU) 2026/1386 (“EU Screening Regulation”).

The proposed reform is highly relevant to M&A practice: On the one hand, FDI screening law’s scope of application is expanded, and failure to notify transactions will be subject to a fine; on the other hand, the draft provides for simplifications in several areas.

In its fifth annual report on the application of the Screening Regulation (EU) 2019/452 (“REG 2019/452”), the European Commission provides an overview of trends in foreign direct investment in the EU, as well as the practices of national investment screening authorities and the European cooperation mechanism during the 2024 reporting year. In particular, the data highlights the authorities’ continued focus on critical technologies as well as Germany’s central role.

On 24 September 2026, Advocate General Capeta delivered her Opinion in CaseC-538/25 Flugzeugherstellerin, addressing the concept of “dual-use items’” inArticle 2(1) of Regulation (EU) 2021/821 (the “Dual-use Regulation”). That provision defines dual-use items as “items, including software and technology,which can be used for both civil and military purposes”, and, for the firsttime the Court of Justice has been asked to interpret that meaning.