Can you please give us an idea of the sort of work your team has done recently?

The Austrian Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs (BMDW) is responsible for the screening of foreign direct investments that could harm security or public order in Austria. On the national level, the legal basis is the Investment Control Act (ICA), which came into force on 25^th of July 2020. The ICA requires investors to submit mandatory notifications for certain acquisitions of, and investments in, companies active in sensitive sectors. On a European level, Regulation (EU) 2019/452, establishing a framework for the screening of foreign direct investments into the Union (the so-called “FDI-Screening Regulation”), foresees a cooperation mechanism between member states and the European Commission when screening transactions covered by the FDI Screening Regulation. In the first year since the coming into force of the ICA, Austria has screened 50 transactions on a national level and imposed mitigation measures in two cases since a threat to security and public order could not be ruled out. Although Austria is a small country in the European Union, it plays an active and policy-making role in the enforcement of investment control provisions at the European level. Austria (being one of the top five Member States in terms of notifications) notified 33 of 250 transactions within the EU cooperation mechanism and issued 11 comments to other Member States because it considered these transactions likely to affect its security or public order or had relevant information for the screening procedure of the notifying Member State.

What would you say are the unique qualities required to be successful as an in-house lawyer in your industry?

While professional skills can be developed to a certain extent, I would consider emotional skills as the most important, especially teamwork and collaboration skills. Communication and intercultural skills are extremely important when talking with representatives of other EU-Member States and the European Commission. As I am the local point of contact for the Austrian Investment Control Committee (an advisory council for the Austrian Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs), coordination skills are also essential as the positions of the different ministries and provinces need to be considered during the screening procedure. Besides that, networked thinking and assertiveness are also helpful qualities.

If you had to give advice to an aspiring in-house lawyer or general counsel, what would it be and why?

You must leave your comfort zone and accept challenges. I always try not to choose the path of least resistance. It is important to be surrounded by people you can learn from, who support you and to whom you can look to as role models. Learning from the best is essential to advance your career!