Changes in the Swedish FDI regulation: Expanded scope and simplified notification procedure
This summer, both Sweden and the EU took significant steps to expand the scope of foreign direct investment (“FDI”) screening. On 15 July 2026, a revised Swedish regulation on essential activities entered into force, broadening the range of activities subject to notification under the FDI Act. On 8 June 2026, the EU adopted a new FDI Regulation setting a stricter, harmonised minimum standard for all Member States. Given how extensive the Swedish framework already is, the practical impact for businesses is likely to remain greatest at the Swedish national level.
New Swedish regulation on essential activities under the FDI Act
The Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency (Sw. Myndigheten för civilt försvar, ”MCF”) has revised its regulation setting out which essential activities fall within the scope of the Swedish Act on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments (2023:560) (the ”FDI Act”). The new regulation, MCFFS 2026:13, available here in Swedish, entered into force on 15 July 2026. Changes have been made to most of the regulation’s 16 chapters, broadening the range of activities that trigger a notification obligation to the Inspectorate of Strategic Products (Sw. Inspektionen för strategiska produkter, ”ISP”) under the FDI Act.
The revisions clarify the relevant thresholds, which remain very low: a workforce of at least five full-time equivalents or an annual turnover of at least SEK 5,000,000 (approx. EUR 450 ,000). However, for some protective activities no thresholds apply. The scope has also been further expanded to cover, among other things, the manufacture or storage of components intended for civil defence shelters, the manufacture of cement or concrete, the manufacture of bitumen, the production of copper, iron and steel or ferroalloys, certain provision of vehicle charging services, the construction, installation or operation of backup power facilities operated or managed by public sector bodies or others carrying out security-sensitive activities, the import of, or wholesale trade in, personal protective equipment, the performance of passenger or freight transport by rail, solar power, electricity trading (with the threshold lowered from 10 MW to 1 MW), trade in radioactive substances, and healthcare activities such as pre-hospital emergency care.
ISP statistics for 2026
ISP publishes quarterly statistics on cases handled under the FDI Act. In the second quarter of 2026, ISP received 646 notifications, an increase of 21.4 per cent compared to 532 in the first quarter. 699 notifications were closed without further action, up 46.2 per cent from 478 in the first quarter, and 10 in-depth reviews were initiated. Of the reviews concluded, five investments were approved, with no approvals subject to conditions and no prohibitions. Two cases were discontinued, of which one followed ISP having communicated its intention to issue a decision. Since the entry into force of the legislation 1 December 2023 there are in total 3 prohibitions and 6 decisions subject to conditions.
Thus,he trend of rising notification numbers continues, but in-depth screenings remain rare, with Sweden accounting for a very large share of notifications (40% according to the Commission’s fifth ’Report on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments into the Union’ ) within the EU due to the wide scope chosen by the Swedish legislator. Given the expansion of the Swedish regulation described above, there is no sign of this trend reversing.
Simplified notification form for intra-EU investments
On 12 May 2026, the ISP introduced an updated notification form for foreign direct investments, aimed at simplifying the notification process for intra-EU investments, which was a welcome amendment. The new form requires the notifying party to first indicate whether the investment is intra-EU or extra-EU, and the number of mandatory fields for notifications of intra-EU investments. According to the ISP, the change reflects requests from investors and their advisers and is intended to allow ISP to focus more of its resources on substantive casework.
The new EU Regulation on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investments
On 17 June 2026, the EU adopted a new Regulation 2026/1386 on the screening of foreign investments, published on 26 June 2026, strengthening the screening system for foreign investments and repealing and replacing the previous FDI Regulation. It will apply from 17 January 2028. The new regulation, whose draft we have written about previously, responds to gaps identified in the previous framework, notably its failure to cover indirect investments made through EU-established subsidiaries, and reflects the EU’s heightened focus on economic security since 2019, most recently reaffirmed in the Commission’s updated 2025 economic security strategy.
Key changes include a common minimum level of screening: all Member States must now establish screening mechanisms for particularly sensitive investments, covering areas such as dual-use items, hypercritical technologies (AI, quantum, semiconductors), strategic raw materials, critical energy, transport and digital infrastructure, electoral infrastructure, and certain financial market entities. From a Swedish perspective, it is noteworthy that internal restructurings fall outside of the scope of application of the Regulation. However, the Regulation applies to internal restructurings in case a new legal entity, established in a third country that is not already represented in the upstream ownership chain of the Union target, is introduced in that chain
Cooperation between Member States and the Commission is also strengthened, with screening states required to explain how other states’ or the Commission’s opinions into account. The regulation further introduces a common database, a voluntary EU-wide notification portal, harmonised procedural deadlines (including a maximum 45-calendar-day initial review phase), and a call-in mechanism allowing authorities to review unnotified or completed investments retrospectively.
For Sweden, the FDI Act already has a wider scope than the new EU regulation requires, particularly regarding essential services. No further expansion of the Swedish framework is therefore expected. The Implementation Council – the state body that provides recommendations to the Government on the implementation of EU legislation – has submitted an opinion to the Government (published on 16 February 2026), proposing that intra-group transactions between wholly-owned group companies should be exempt from the notification requirement. However, it is unclear whether this change will be implemented. Businesses should therefore continue to expect Sweden’s FDI regime to remain among the most far-reaching in the EU, even as the new EU framework raises the baseline elsewhere.
Concluding remarks
The new Swedish regulation confirms a continued expansion of the Swedish FDI screening regime, adding a wide range of activities across heavy industries, energy, transport, healthcare and critical infrastructure. At EU level, the new FDI Regulation raises the baseline for all Member States by introducing mandatory minimum screening mechanisms and closing gaps such as the previous exclusion of indirect investments. Hopefully, the exclusion of internal restructurings will also be implemented in the Swedish legislation, which is a matter that we will follow closely. However, combined with record notification volumes and a steady stream of related EU-level developments, these changes underline the importance of assessing at an early stage whether an investment or transaction may trigger a notification obligation. Both sellers and investors should note that the scope of the FDI Act does not follow conventional sectoral classifications, that it captures minority investments as low as 10 % and additional investments in case certain thresholds are met as well as internal reorganisations (which for now remain within scope in Sweden). They should also be aware that the rules governing notification obligations, in Sweden and at EU level, continue to evolve. For assistance in navigating these requirements and assessing whether your investment or transactions fall within scope, please contact Delphi’s EU and Competition team.