A new Greek foreign investment law has established a mandatory, suspensory regime. Acquisitions of, or increases in, shareholdings or voting rights in Greek undertakings operating in "sensitive" or "highly sensitive" sectors must obtain prior approval if sector-specific thresholds are met:
Investments in "sensitive" sectors—including energy, transport, digital infrastructure, and healthcare—are subject to screening (solely) when a non-EU investor acquires at least 25% of the shares, voting rights, or equivalent participation.
Investments in "highly sensitive" sectors—including defense, dual-use items, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and certain tourism infrastructure in border areas—are subject to screening when a non-EU investor (or an EU investor in which a non-EU person holds, directly or indirectly, at least 10% of share capital or voting rights) acquires at least 10% of the shares, voting rights, or equivalent participation. Subsequent add-on acquisitions trigger a new screening if 20%, 25%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and/or 75% ownership is reached or exceeded.
There is a carve-out for portfolio investments, but it is limited to natural persons who acquire shares solely as a financial investment (i.e., without any intention or ability to influence the management or control of the target). Institutional investors and legal entities are expressly excluded from the exemption, regardless of whether their investment is passive in nature.
Read our alert to find out more about the Greek regime—the notification obligation, review period and sanctions for non-compliance—and how it aligns with planned revisions to the EU FDI Regulation (discussed above). Notably, this latest development has left Cyprus and Croatia as the sole EU member states without foreign investment screening laws.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
