Germany

Germany

Extends the FDI screening mechanism to Software and IT Services necessary for the provision of critical infrastructure

06 Sep 2021

On 6 September 2021, the 2nd amendment to the BSI Critical Infrastructure Ordinance (Zweite Verordnung zur Änderung der BSI-Kritisverordnung) was adopted. The new amendment expands the definition of the facilities necessary for the provision of critical infrastructure to include Software and IT Services. Upon reaching the defined threshold an IT-company can be qualified as an operator of critical infrastructure. As a result a foreign acquisition of at least 10 per cent stock in the said company will fall under the FDI control regime. The amendment will enter into force on 1 January 2022.

The amendment further provides the classification of critical infrastructures in all seven sectors (energy, information technology and telecommunications, water, food, transport and traffic, health, as well as finance and insurance) and clarifies thresholds upon reaching which the infrastructure is considered critical.