Coronavirus: Royal Decree-Law 34/2020, of 17 November: another turn of the screw for the regime on Foreign Investment in Spain post Covid-19 (November 2020)
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Among the many measures that the Government adopted as a result of the declaration of the state of emergency by means of Royal Decree 436/2020, of 14 March, with a significant impact on investments in Spain, one that stands out is the suspension, effective as of 18 March, of the system of deregulation of foreign direct investment in Spain, implemented by Royal Decree-Law 8/2020, of 17 March, on urgent extraordinary measures to address the economic and social impact of COVID-19 ("RDL 8/2020"). As a result, the need for authorisation for foreign investment became the norm, when it had previously only been required exceptionally, for very specific sectors, when carried out by residents of countries outside the European Union ("EU") and the European Free Trade Association ("EFTA").
Entre muchas de las medidas que el Gobierno adoptó como consecuencia de la declaración del estado de alarma mediante el Real Decreto 436/2020, de 14 de marzo, con un significativo impacto en las inversiones en España, destaca la suspensión, con efectos desde el 18 de marzo, del régimen de liberalización de las inversiones extranjeras directas en nuestro país, operado por el Real Decreto-Ley 8/2020, de 17 marzo, de medidas urgentes extraordinarias para hacer frente al impacto económico y social del COVID-19 ("RDL 8/2020"). Como consecuencia de esta norma, se generalizaba la necesidad de obtener autorización para inversiones extranjeras, prevista excepcionalmente en el pasado para sectores muy concretos, cuando fueran realizadas por residentes de países ajenos a la Unión Europea ("UE") y a la Asociación Europea de Libre Comercio ("AELC").
