On October 10-13, 2023, CLDP conducted a Regional Workshop on Developing Effective Investment Screening Mechanisms in the Western Balkans. The main objective of the four-day program was to assist relevant stakeholders within governments in the Western Balkans to consider the appropriate legal and policy solutions for creating and implementing FDI screening mechanisms domestically. The workshop was led by experts from CFIUS member agencies and FDI screening experts from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and the European Commission. The experts introduced key concepts and international best practices in investment screening and investment transparency.

CLDP held this workshop on the sidelines of the 2023 CELIS Forum on Investment Screening and Economic Security organized by the CELIS Institute and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE).  As such, participants also participated in forum sessions led by thought leaders in investment control and economic security from Europe, the U.S., and beyond.

This program is part of a broader project that will help the Western Balkans protect itself from the national security risks and vulnerabilities to malign economic influence that can result from foreign transactions that involve the acquisition of strategic assets, including critical infrastructure, critical technology, and sensitive data.