For the first time since the screening mechanism became operational in 2023, Belgium has blocked a foreign investment. The decision, taken by the Interfederal Screening Committee (“ISC”) in early August 2026, marks a turning point for the regime and sends a clear message to the market: not all concerns can be resolved through mitigating measures.
That foreign investment can lead to a drain of know-how is not merely theoretical – a criminal investigation that dominated the press this week offers a striking example. In 2021, investors from Hong Kong acquired BelGaN, an Oudenaarde-based chip manufacturer with cutting-edge gallium nitride technology used in electric vehicles and data centres. The company went bankrupt in 2024. In May 2026, a former BelGaN manager was detained on suspicion of passing trade secrets to a Chinese competitor – a sobering reminder that foreign investment can indeed serve as a vector for the loss of sensitive technology.
Alongside these developments, the annual report paints a broader picture. The ISC’s third annual report, published in September 2026, reveals a screening mechanism that is maturing rapidly: notifications have nearly doubled, and the regime is becoming an established part of the Belgian investment landscape. At the same time, Belgium must prepare for further change. The new EU Regulation 2026/1386 will impose harmonised minimum standards across the Union from January 2028, requiring amendments to the Belgian procedure.
This contribution traces these developments and considers what they mean for investors and practitioners navigating Belgium’s evolving FDI landscape.
A first: the ISC blocks the NHV takeover
The transaction that prompted the ISC’s first-ever prohibition involved Noordzee Helikopters Vlaanderen (“NHV”), an Ostend-based helicopter services group controlled by the French private equity firm Ardian. At the end of 2025, NHV had agreed to be acquired by GD Helicopter Finance, a Dublin-based vehicle ultimately controlled by the Chinese aviation group GDAT. Belgium’s military intelligence service (ADIV) subsequently opened an investigation into the acquisition, which presumably contributed to the security assessment underpinning the ISC’s decision to block the deal in early August 2026.
The ISC did not publish its reasons, but the concerns reported in the press centred on the fact that Airbus Helicopters had initially earmarked NHV to service the new H145M helicopters acquired by the Ministry of Defence for the air force and the federal police, which could have placed the upkeep of these defence assets in the hands of a company controlled from China. The decision marks a turning point for investors and practitioners, confirming that the ISC stands ready to block transactions when it perceives a genuine threat to national security.
Key figures from the ISC’s annual report
Beyond the NHV case, the ISC’s third annual report tells a broader story of a screening mechanism that is becoming firmly established.
Between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026, the ISC secretariat received 191 notifications, nearly doubling the number in the previous reporting year. The ISC attributes much of this increase to greater awareness among companies and investors of their obligations. In addition, practitioners have noticed stepped-up efforts to detect investments that should have been notified but were not. Indeed, the secretariat sent 27 requests for information to investors regarding potentially non-notified transactions, up from 16 such instances a year earlier.
Of the 191 notifications, 162 investments were authorised outright, two were approved subject to mitigating measures, and 27 remained pending at the close of the reporting period. No investment was blocked – the NHV decision, taken in early August 2026, falls just outside the reporting window – and, unlike last year, no notifications were withdrawn by investors during screening.
Despite the higher volume, processing times held steady. The average duration of the verification procedure was 32 days, essentially unchanged from 31 days last year and, as before, slightly exceeding the 30-day legal time limit.
As in previous years, the United States remained the dominant source of investment, accounting for almost 42% of notified transactions (91 transactions), followed by the United Kingdom with 21% (46 transactions). Switzerland re-entered the top five in third place with just over 5%, while Japan dropped out. The most affected sectors remain sensitive information and personal data (29%), energy (19%), digital infrastructure (9%), health (9%) and dual use (8%).
On the horizon: a new EU Regulation and Belgian reform
The annual report also highlights a significant development at EU level: the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2026/1386, which will fundamentally reshape FDI screening across the Union. For the first time, all Member States will be required to establish a national screening mechanism, and minimum requirements will be imposed on both the substantive scope and the procedural design of those mechanisms.
The legislative process was protracted. Following a Commission proposal in January 2024 to revise Regulation (EU) 2019/452, almost two years of negotiations in the Council and trilogues with the Parliament were needed before the text was finalised at the end of 2025. The resulting Regulation entered into force on 16 July 2026 and will apply from 17 January 2028.
For Belgium, the new Regulation will require amendments to the cooperation agreement of 30 November 2022 – notably to align procedural deadlines with the European framework and to meet the new minimum requirements for substantive scope. Given Belgium’s complex federal structure, the revision will require coordination across all levels of government. Work is already under way: a public consultation on a revised agreement, launched by the ISC, closed on 31 August 2026 – an exercise that also presents an opportunity to incorporate the lessons of the past three years.
Conclusion
The past year has been a pivotal one for Belgian FDI screening. The first-ever prohibition sends a clear signal that the ISC is prepared to act when national security is at stake. The near-doubling of notifications confirms the regime’s growing prominence and reach. With the new EU Regulation on the horizon, practitioners and stakeholders should prepare for further changes to the Belgian FDI regime.
The full report can be accessed here.
