EU foreign direct investment stocks decline in 2025 as U.S. remains top partner

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EU FDI stocks decline 2025

Highlights

EU foreign direct investment stocks in non-EU countries fall 2.3% to €9.479 trillion in 2025, while inward FDI stocks decline 2.8% to €6.988 trillion.
Special Purpose Entities account for 26.2% of EU outbound FDI stocks and 33.3% of inward FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in 2025.
The U.S. remains the EU's top FDI partner with €2.791 trillion outbound and €2.075 trillion inbound, representing 29.4% and 29.7% of respective totals.

Eurostat data shows broad pullback in 2025

As reported by Eurostat, net foreign direct investment stocks held in non-EU countries by investors resident in the EU amount to €9.479 trillion in 2025, down 2.3% from €9.701 trillion in 2024.

FDI stocks held by non-EU residents in the EU also fall, to €6.988 trillion from €7.186 trillion a year earlier, a decline of 2.8%. Eurostat says FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU have been decreasing since 2022, when they reached €7.878 trillion, their highest level since 2013.

Special Purpose Entities continue to play a significant role in these investment positions. At the end of 2025, they account for 26.2% of total EU FDI stocks held abroad and 33.3% of FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU.

U.S. and UK remain the main investment counterparts

The U.S. absorbs 29.4% of total EU FDI stocks held in the rest of the world at the end of 2025, equivalent to €2.791 trillion. The UK follows with €1.877 trillion, or 19.8%, ahead of Switzerland with €812 billion, or 8.6%, while Brazil and Canada account for 3.3% and 2.6% respectively.

The Cayman Islands and Mexico each represent 2.4% of the EU's FDI stocks outside the bloc, followed by China, excluding Hong Kong, and Singapore at 2.3% each, and Bermuda at 2.0%.

In the opposite direction, the U.S. accounts for the largest share of FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU, at €2.075 trillion or 29.7%. The UK ranks second with €1.262 trillion, or 18.1%, followed by Switzerland at €602 billion, the Cayman Islands at €323 billion and Japan at €249 billion, while Singapore, Canada, Bermuda, Gibraltar and Jersey each hold more than 2% of inward FDI stocks in the EU.

Mario Draghi’s warning on the risks of prolonged tight monetary policy highlighted how keeping interest rates above growth rates can worsen public debt dynamics and ultimately curb the productive investment needed for long-term resilience. In our earlier article, we noted his call for central banks to prioritise inflation control while avoiding unnecessarily restrictive rate paths, alongside EU-level measures such as deeper market integration and targeted funding to support innovation and investment.

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