EU scrutinizes Emirati takeover of Estonian robotics firm

MILAN and WASHINGTON — The European Commission is investigating the February takeover of Estonia’s Milrem , a company deeply rooted in the European Union’s defense robotics efforts, by an Emirati state-owned conglomerate.

The move follows concerns that defense cooperation projects meant to advance European security interests could be tapped by businesses and governments outside the EU to extract knowledge and exert influence.

“As standard procedure applied to projects benefiting from grants under EU defense funding programs, ownership changes trigger an assessment by the commission,” a European Commission spokesperson told Defense News. “In particular, the impact on the eligibility of acquired entities for EU funding is assessed considering that an acquisition by a third-country-controlled entity could be contravening the security and defense interests of the EU and its member states.”

Milrem leads the European iMUGS project, which came with a $40 million grant in 2020. The project aims to create something of a plug-and-play architecture for future military robotic vehicles of the member states.

Edge Group acquired a majority stake in Milrem last month, a transaction meant to accelerate the Estonian company’s growth and provide the new owners a foothold in Europe, particularly northern Europe, the companies announced Feb. 15. They did not disclose the value of the deal.

EU officials only learned about the takeover that month, according to the commission spokesperson. And an official at the Estonian Defence Ministry said the government was informed mere days before the public announcement.

The case stresses loopholes written into EU regulations on collaborative projects when companies under foreign ownership are involved. Participation in bloc-funded projects is permitted, but only as an exception. Foreign-owned companies, along with their host governments, must make the case in Brussels that they won’t jeopardize European security interests or drain intellectual property gained in the process of bloc-wide collaboration to their new bosses.

Milrem has pledged to put safeguards in place to that effect.

The company’s takeover barely beats a new law approved by the Estonian parliament on foreign direct investment screening. The legislation is meant to close a loophole — one long decried by Brussels — for foreign influence through commercial backdoors.

But the law will take effect in September, meaning the Estonian Defence Ministry had no role in reviewing the deal, a spokesperson there confirmed.

It remains unclear how much power the European Commission holds in situations like this. There appears to be no precedent for the mid-project takeover of a prominent consortium leader by a country outside the EU and even outside the trans-Atlantic NATO alliance.

What complicates the matter is that some European defense companies may see Edge Group as a springboard for their business interests in the Arab world, according to industry insiders, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic.

What Brussels can do, however, is withhold future funding for EU defense projects or exclude companies outright if requisite safety guarantees are deemed insufficient, according to a guide for applicants to the multibillion-euro European Defence Fund.

That fund is in line to finance future EU robotics work, including iMUGS, with decisions coming this summer.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

米兰和华盛顿——欧盟委员会正在调查今年2月阿联酋一家国有企业集团收购爱沙尼亚米尔雷姆公司（Milrem）的事件。米尔雷姆公司在欧盟的国防机器人领域有着深厚的根基。

此举源于人们担心，旨在推进欧洲安全利益的国防合作项目可能会被欧盟以外的企业和政府利用，以获取知识和施加影响。

欧盟委员会发言人告诉《防务新闻》：“根据欧盟国防资助计划的惯例，所有权变更会触发委员会的评估。特别是，考虑到第三国控制的实体进行的收购可能损害欧盟及其成员国的安全和国防利益，因此会评估被收购实体获得欧盟资助资格的影响。”

Milrem 领导的欧洲 iMUGS 项目于 2020 年获得了 4000 万美元的拨款。该项目旨在为成员国未来的军用机器人车辆创建一个即插即用的架构。

Edge Group上个月收购了Milrem的多数股权，此举旨在加速这家爱沙尼亚公司的发展，并为新东家在欧洲，特别是北欧市场站稳脚跟。两家公司于2月15日宣布了这一消息，但并未透露交易金额。

欧盟委员会发言人称，欧盟官员也是当月才得知此次收购事件。爱沙尼亚国防部一位官员表示，政府仅在公开宣布前几天才被告知此事。

该案例凸显了欧盟关于涉及外资企业合作项目的法规漏洞。参与欧盟资助的项目是被允许的，但仅限于例外情况。外资企业及其东道国政府必须在布鲁塞尔证明，它们不会损害欧洲安全利益，也不会将欧盟合作过程中获得的知识产权转移给其新的所有者。

Milrem已承诺采取相应保障措施。

这家公司的收购案险些抢在爱沙尼亚议会通过一项关于外国直接投资审查的新法律之前完成。这项立法旨在堵住一个漏洞——布鲁塞尔方面长期以来一直谴责这一漏洞——该漏洞允许外国势力通过商业后门施加影响。

但该法律将于9月生效，这意味着爱沙尼亚国防部在审查该协议方面没有发挥任何作用，该部发言人证实了这一点。

目前尚不清楚欧盟委员会在类似情况下拥有多大的权力。此前似乎从未有过由欧盟以外甚至​​跨大西洋北约联盟以外的国家接管知名财团领导层的项目。

更复杂的是，据业内人士透露，一些欧洲国防公司可能将 Edge Group 视为其在阿拉伯世界拓展业务的跳板。由于该话题的敏感性，这些业内人士要求匿名。

然而，根据一份针对数十亿欧元欧洲防务基金申请者的指南，如果必要的安全保证被认为不足，布鲁塞尔可以扣留欧盟防务项目的未来资金，或者直接将公司排除在外。

该基金将用于资助欧盟未来的机器人技术研究，包括 iMUGS 项目，相关决定将于今年夏天公布。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。