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Inhemska investeringar i fastigheter och FDI-lagens anmälningsplikt – en proportionerlig reglering?

Kristensen, Clara LU (2025) JURM02 20251
Department of Law
Faculty of Law
Abstract
The current global security situation has led to foreign direct investments – once primarily seen as contributing to national economic growth – to increasingly be viewed as a potential security risk. In response, the EU adopted a regulation in 2019 granting Member States the authority to establish national screening systems to block harmful foreign investments in certain sensitive sectors. Sweden introduced such a system through the act (2023:560) on the review of foreign direct investments (the FDI-Act). According to Section 7 of the Act, investors must notify the authorities before investing in activities that may negatively impact national security. Although the FDI-Act only allows the prohibition of foreign investments, the... (More)
The current global security situation has led to foreign direct investments – once primarily seen as contributing to national economic growth – to increasingly be viewed as a potential security risk. In response, the EU adopted a regulation in 2019 granting Member States the authority to establish national screening systems to block harmful foreign investments in certain sensitive sectors. Sweden introduced such a system through the act (2023:560) on the review of foreign direct investments (the FDI-Act). According to Section 7 of the Act, investors must notify the authorities before investing in activities that may negatively impact national security. Although the FDI-Act only allows the prohibition of foreign investments, the notification requirement also applies to domestic investments. This thesis aims to analyze the scope of the notification requirement and assess whether it’s proportionate, with particular focus on domestic investments in Swedish real estate companies.
The analytical part of the thesis explains the background and purpose of the FDI-Act, and clarifies how the provisions of the Act relate to domestic investments in real estate companies. To place the Swedish regulation in a European context, a brief overview is also provided of how certain other European countries have regulated the notification requirement, and it is noted that the Swedish regulation goes further than most of the comparable countries. Furthermore, the consequences of the notification requirement are presented. This is illustrated both through statistics on FDI-related cases handled by the responsible screening authority, and by highlighting viewpoints from actors in the business and real estate sectors. These actors particularly emphasize that the notification requirements are perceived as complex and unclear – where broad and vague definitions lead to legal uncertainty, increased administrative burdens, and higher transaction costs.
In the thesis, a proportionality analysis is carried out to assess whether the scope of the notification requirement is reasonable in relation to its aims. First, the legislator’s own proportionality assessment is presented, followed by an independent proportionality analysis based on the findings of the thesis. The analysis is based on a three-step model established in the Barsebäck case, which serves as a well-recognized framework for applying the principle of proportionality in Swedish law. The three criteria considered are whether the measure is appropriate for achieving its intended aim, whether it is necessary or if the same objective could be achieved through less restrictive means, and whether the benefits to the public outweigh the negative consequences for individual actors. The results indicate that the notification requirement likely fails to meet the criteria of necessity and proportionality in the strict sense. On this basis, the thesis concludes that a review of the law may be required to determine whether changes are needed to better balance national security, legal certainty and a favorable business climate. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Det försämrade säkerhetspolitiska läget har gjort att utländska direktinvesteringar – som tidigare främst betraktats bidra till nationell kapitaltillväxt – numera anses utgöra en potentiell säkerhetsrisk. Som en följd av detta antog EU år 2019 en förordning som gav medlemsstaterna befogenhet att införa nationella granskningssystem för att hindra skadliga utländska direktinvesteringar i säkerhetskänslig verksamhet. I Sverige infördes ett sådant system genom lagen (2023:560) om granskning av utländska direktinvesteringar (FDI-lagen). I lagens 7 § föreskrivs en anmälningsplikt för investerare som avser att investera i säkerhetskänslig verksamhet. Trots att lagen enbart möjliggör förbud mot utländska investeringar, omfattas även inhemska... (More)
Det försämrade säkerhetspolitiska läget har gjort att utländska direktinvesteringar – som tidigare främst betraktats bidra till nationell kapitaltillväxt – numera anses utgöra en potentiell säkerhetsrisk. Som en följd av detta antog EU år 2019 en förordning som gav medlemsstaterna befogenhet att införa nationella granskningssystem för att hindra skadliga utländska direktinvesteringar i säkerhetskänslig verksamhet. I Sverige infördes ett sådant system genom lagen (2023:560) om granskning av utländska direktinvesteringar (FDI-lagen). I lagens 7 § föreskrivs en anmälningsplikt för investerare som avser att investera i säkerhetskänslig verksamhet. Trots att lagen enbart möjliggör förbud mot utländska investeringar, omfattas även inhemska investeringar av anmälningsplikten. Denna uppsats syftar till att analysera anmälningspliktens räckvidd och bedöma om den är proportionerlig, med särskilt fokus på dess påverkan på inhemska investeringar i svenska fastighetsbolag.
Uppsatsens utredande del presenterar FDI-lagens bakgrund och syfte, och tydliggör även hur FDI-lagens bestämmelser relaterar till inhemska investeringar i fastighetsbolag. För att sätta den svenska regleringen i en europeisk kontext, görs även en kortfattad redogörelse för hur vissa andra europeiska länder reglerat anmälningsplikten, och det konstateras att Sveriges reglering går längre än de flesta länder i jämförelsen. Vidare presenteras konsekvenser som anmälningsplikten givit upphov till. Detta belyses dels genom statistik över FDI-relaterade ärenden hos granskningsmyndigheten, dels genom att lyfta fram synpunkter från aktörer inom näringslivet och fastighetsbranschen. Dessa aktörer pekar särskilt på att kraven för anmälningsplikt upplevs som komplexa och otydliga – där breda och svårtolkade begreppsdefinitioner leder till rättsosäkerhet, ökad administrativ börda och högre transaktionskostnader.
I uppsatsen genomförs en proportionalitetsanalys av anmälningsplikten och dess effekter, för att bedöma om dess omfattning står i rimlig proportion till dess syfte. Först presenteras lagstiftarens egen proportionalitetsavvägning, och sedan görs en egen proportionalitetsanalys baserat på det som framkommit i uppsatsen. Analysen utgår från den trestegsmodell som etablerades i det s.k. Barsebäck-målet, vilken utgör en vedertagen bedömningsram för proportionalitetsprincipen i svensk rätt. De tre kriterier som beaktas är om anmälningspliktens omfattning är ändamålsenlig, om den är nödvändig eller om syftet kan nås med mindre ingripande medel, samt om nyttan för det allmänna står i rimlig proportion till de negativa konsekvenser som drabbar enskilda aktörer. Resultatet indikerar att anmälningsplikten brister vad gäller kraven på nödvändighet och proportionalitet i strikt mening. Mot denna bakgrund dras slutsatsen att lagen kan behöva utvärderas för att bedöma om en revidering krävs, i syfte att uppnå en bättre balans mellan ett effektivt säkerhetsskydd, rättssäkerhet och ett gynnsamt affärsklimat. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Kristensen, Clara LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Domestic Real Estate Investments and the Notification Requirement under the FDI Act – A Proportionate Regulation?
course
JURM02 20251
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
civilrätt, fastighetsrätt, avtalsrätt, EU-rätt, FDI, UDI, direktinvesteringar, fastighetstransaktion, proportionalitet
language
Swedish
id
9189322
date added to LUP
2025-06-19 11:48:48
date last changed
2025-06-19 11:48:48
@misc{9189322,
  abstract     = {{The current global security situation has led to foreign direct investments – once primarily seen as contributing to national economic growth – to increasingly be viewed as a potential security risk. In response, the EU adopted a regulation in 2019 granting Member States the authority to establish national screening systems to block harmful foreign investments in certain sensitive sectors. Sweden introduced such a system through the act (2023:560) on the review of foreign direct investments (the FDI-Act). According to Section 7 of the Act, investors must notify the authorities before investing in activities that may negatively impact national security. Although the FDI-Act only allows the prohibition of foreign investments, the notification requirement also applies to domestic investments. This thesis aims to analyze the scope of the notification requirement and assess whether it’s proportionate, with particular focus on domestic investments in Swedish real estate companies. 
The analytical part of the thesis explains the background and purpose of the FDI-Act, and clarifies how the provisions of the Act relate to domestic investments in real estate companies. To place the Swedish regulation in a European context, a brief overview is also provided of how certain other European countries have regulated the notification requirement, and it is noted that the Swedish regulation goes further than most of the comparable countries. Furthermore, the consequences of the notification requirement are presented. This is illustrated both through statistics on FDI-related cases handled by the responsible screening authority, and by highlighting viewpoints from actors in the business and real estate sectors. These actors particularly emphasize that the notification requirements are perceived as complex and unclear – where broad and vague definitions lead to legal uncertainty, increased administrative burdens, and higher transaction costs.
In the thesis, a proportionality analysis is carried out to assess whether the scope of the notification requirement is reasonable in relation to its aims. First, the legislator’s own proportionality assessment is presented, followed by an independent proportionality analysis based on the findings of the thesis. The analysis is based on a three-step model established in the Barsebäck case, which serves as a well-recognized framework for applying the principle of proportionality in Swedish law. The three criteria considered are whether the measure is appropriate for achieving its intended aim, whether it is necessary or if the same objective could be achieved through less restrictive means, and whether the benefits to the public outweigh the negative consequences for individual actors. The results indicate that the notification requirement likely fails to meet the criteria of necessity and proportionality in the strict sense. On this basis, the thesis concludes that a review of the law may be required to determine whether changes are needed to better balance national security, legal certainty and a favorable business climate.}},
  author       = {{Kristensen, Clara}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Inhemska investeringar i fastigheter och FDI-lagens anmälningsplikt – en proportionerlig reglering?}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}