EU draws up economic security plans, with eye on China

The European Commission will set out plans on Wednesday to bolster the European Union’s economic security through closer scrutiny of foreign investment
and more coordinated controls on exports and outflows of technologies to rivals such as China.
The EU executive will present a broad document on its strategy along with a proposed revision to its law on foreign direct investment screening that will require all EU countries to screen and possibly block foreign investments in the bloc if they pose a security risk.
Screening will also extend to investments within the EU if the investor is controlled by a foreign company, according to documents seen by Reuters.
The plans will not name any country, but the EU has stressed working with “reliable partners” and “de-risking”, the bloc’s policy of reducing economic reliance on China, which dominates green tech and key mineral production and which the bloc regards with more suspicion due to its close ties to Russia.