Appeal A non-EU investor can seek annulment of a prohibition decision by lodging an appeal with the Market Court (a specific section of the Court of Appeals in Brussels). The appeal does not suspend the contested decision. If the Market Court annuls the decision, the case will be sent back to the ISC. It is unclear whether third parties can also appeal the final decision of the ISC, and if so, whether they can do so before the Market Court. Sanctions In case of non-compliance with the FDI Regime, administrative fines (up to 10% of the proposed investment in most circumstances, and up to 30% in certain circumstances) can be imposed. The ISC also has the power to start an ex-officio investigation if it considers the non-EU investor failed to notify a transaction that falls within the scope of the Cooperation Agreement. The power of the Flemish government to annul or suspend any transaction resulting in a foreign investor acquiring control or decision-making power in government agencies or certain legal entities entrusted with missions of public interest, if such would threaten the strategic interests of the Flemish Region or the Flemish Community (ex post control), continues to apply in parallel with the federal FDI Regime, although such power may prove less relevant in practice. Second-Year Data The second annual report since the FDI Regime’s promulgation was published on September 17, 2025, covering the span of time between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025. The report indicated 100 received notifications, including 90 authorized investments, one of which was subject to mitigating measures; 2 withdrawn notifications; and 8 pending cases. No investments had been blocked, and the ISC had only commenced a formal screening procedure in 5% of cases. The top notifying sectors were sensitive information/ personal data (21%), digital infrastructure (14%),
energy (13%), health (12%) and dual use (9%). The nations with the largest percentages of notified transactions were the U.S. (45%), the UK (22%), Japan (8%), Canada (7%) and China (5%). The report noted that revisions of the current FDI Regulation remained underway. Since then, the Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional political agreement to revise the Regulation. On May 19, 2026, the New EU FDI Screening Regulation was adopted by the European Parliament and now awaits formal approval by the Council before entering into force. The new Regulation is expected to introduce a minimum scope of mandatory screening sectors, to harmonize the screening conditions for indirect foreign investments through EU subsidiaries and to enhance the cooperation mechanism between Member States. Notably, the timeline for the initial review will be set at a maximum of 45 days under the new EU framework. It remains to be seen how and when Belgium will implement changes, given that Member States will have 18 months to apply the EU FDI Screening Regulation from its entry into force.
Belgium
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