The European Union's Approach to State Capitalism: The Screening of Foreign Direct Investment

Speaker: Dr Dini Sejko, lecturer, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; research affiliate,The Fletcher Network for Sovereign Wealth and Global Capital, Tufts University

Moderator: Stephen Minas, Professor of Law, Peking University School of Transnational Law

Date & Time: December 19, 2023 (Tuesday), 7:00 PM (Beijing Time)

Location (In-Person Presentation): STL 301

Language: English

Abstract:

The fast-changing geopolitical tensions have highlighted the insufficiency of the existing multilateral regulatory instruments to address concerns related to state capitalism. The seminar will discuss how the European Union (EU) implemented a multi-layered regulatory approach that involves legislation of the member states and EU regulations, directives, and free trade agreements to address these issues related to state capitalism. The regulatory changes are taking place in a complex geopolitical and geoeconomic background that considers the EU’s renewed aspirations for strategic autonomy, the longstanding alliance between Washington and Brussels, and the relationship between the EU and China.

The seminar will initially provide a brief review of the regulatory instruments introduced by the EU. Then, it will examine how the EU regulation 2019/452 establishes a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union. The presentation will assess how the norm and its implementation address national security and geoeconomic concerns, and solve the national security-economic security equation in the European Union, considering the competencies of its member states.

Short Bio: 

Dr Dini Sejko MCIArb is a lecturer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and a research affiliate at Tufts University, SovereigNET.Dr Sejko serves as an arbitrator, mediator, and conciliator, and is listed on the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) Panels of Arbitrators and Conciliators. Dr Sejko has advised governmental bodies, corporations, and non-profit organisations on international economic law issues.

For his research on the impact of sanctions on the governance of the Libyan sovereign wealth fund, Dr Sejko received the Society of International Economic Law PEPA Best Paper Award 2018. His research has appeared in the American University International Law Review, Transnational Dispute Management, Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, Israel Law Review, Global Trade and Customs Journal, and as book chapters published by Springer & Routledge. Dr Sejko has also co-edited the book "The Regulation of State-Controlled Enterprises: An Interdisciplinary and Comparative Examination," published by Springer in 2022.