A legislative amendment has stipulated that a law mandating the supervision of foreign investments that potentially harm Hungary’s security will come into effect on January 1, 2019.
The law was originally set to come into force on October 1st but the parliament‘s legislative committee has postponed the date to allow for “appropriate preparation”.
According to MTI, the law would make investments from outside the European Union and the European Economic Area in the areas of national security, public security and those affecting economic and public health interests dependent on clearance from the interior minister.
Such fields would include weapons manufacturing, financial services, the energy industry and electronic communications. Violating reporting obligations could result in fines while in some cases the government would get pre-emptive purchasing rights.