Gecić Law is proud to announce its contribution to the prestigious TerraLex Comparative Cross-border Guide to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for the European Union, marking an important milestone as our first contribution to the TerraLex Cross-Border Guides since establishing our Brussels office. This underscores our firm’s deepening footprint in the heart of EU policymaking and its strengthened capability to advise on matters of EU law, competition, trade, and investment screening.
Our Brussels presence has enabled us to take an active role in shaping comparative legal insight at the global level. As TerraLex’s exclusive member firm in three key jurisdictions across the Western Balkans, Gecić Law now also provides EU-law coverage within the TerraLex network, enhancing cross-border coordination and expanding the practical value of the organization’s resources for clients worldwide.
Our firm authored the EU chapter of the TerraLex FDI Comparative Guide, offering readers a clear, structured, and practical overview of the EU’s foreign direct investment screening framework. The chapter, contributed by our Partner and Head of our Brussels office, Anne MacGregor, provides a comprehensive analysis of the EU FDI Screening Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2019/452) and the rapidly evolving landscape governing foreign investment in the Union’s strategic sectors.
Key topics addressed include:
Scope and structure of EU-level FDI screening, including cooperation mechanisms among Member States and the European Commission.
Triggers for review, particularly where investments may affect security or public order.
Assessment criteria, such as impacts on critical infrastructure, technologies, inputs, data, and media pluralism.
Interaction with national regimes, which differ widely across Member States.
Procedural steps and timelines, and how EU and national authorities coordinate during screening.
Current and upcoming reforms, including significant changes under negotiation that could expand the Commission’s powers and harmonize national regimes further.
The guide also highlights recent policy developments, including the EU’s plans to extend the screening framework to portfolio investments and the anticipated adoption of revised rules by Q2 2026.
Our participation in this influential publication reflects the strategic importance of our newly established Brussels office, which serves as the firm’s hub for EU-level advisory work. Gecić Law has thus become the first law firm from CEE and the Balkans to establish a permanent presence in Brussels, the center of EU regulatory activity. Our presence there has strengthened our ability to:
Monitor and interpret legislative developments in real time;
Provide on-the-ground insight into EU competition, trade, digital, and investment-related regulation;
Represent clients directly before EU institutions;
Contribute thought leadership across the global legal community.
This first TerraLex guide contribution following our Brussels launch underscores how quickly the office has become integrated into our broader practice and international engagements.
TerraLex’s mission is to empower member firms in delivering seamless cross-border service through a trusted global network. As the exclusive TerraLex member in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia & Herzegovina, Gecić Law has long contributed regional expertise to the association.
With our expansion to Brussels, we now support TerraLex’s EU-law capabilities, enriching the network’s comparative resources and reinforcing our role as a bridge between Southeastern Europe and the European Union.
TerraLex’s Comparative Global Guides offer concise, practical overviews of legal frameworks across jurisdictions, serving as essential tools for general counsel, cross-border practitioners, advisors, and investors. By presenting harmonized structures and jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction insights, these guides allow users to:
Compare regulatory landscapes quickly;
Identify jurisdiction-specific challenges and opportunities;
Make informed decisions in global transactions.
Gecić Law is honored to contribute to this knowledge platform as part of our ongoing commitment to providing market-leading legal insight across the region and the EU.
Click the link to access a PDF version of the guide.
