Abstract

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the provision of special powers for the State is back in vogue nowadays. The current crisis is fueling a re-expansion of public interventions in the economy to support strategical assets and to defend national economies from potential external aggressions. However, this issue raises questions of compatibility with the European discipline. What is the rationale for multiple FDI Screening policies within a European common market ruled by a single competition policy? Is this compliant with the perimeter of legitimacy identified by the European Commission? Is there room for a new European common strategy to guarantee that FDI Screening policies will be effectively tailored to the need of protecting safety and essential community interests?