BRUSSELS, Belgium / EuroWire.IO / – Foreign investment held in the European Union declined for a third consecutive year in 2025, Eurostat data showed. Foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks held by non-EU residents in the EU fell by 2.8% to €6,988 billion, from €7,186 billion in 2024. The EU’s own FDI stocks abroad also dropped, by 2.3% to €9,479 billion. The figures were released on November 5.
Inward stocks have been falling since 2022, when they reached €7,878 billion, the highest level since 2013, according to the EU statistical office. Since that peak, foreign holdings in the EU have declined by nearly €890 billion. EU investors’ holdings outside the bloc stood at €9,701 billion at the end of 2024. The data measure the accumulated value of investment positions at the end of each year.
Special Purpose Entities remained an important part of the picture. They accounted for 33.3% of FDI stocks held by the rest of the world in the EU at the end of 2025. They also represented 26.2% of total EU FDI stocks held abroad. Such entities are often used by multinational groups for financing or holding purposes and have little physical presence in the economies where they are based. Their share was higher for inward stocks than for outward stocks.
US investors hold 29.7% of EU stocks
The United States accounted for the largest share of FDI stocks held in the EU by the rest of the world, at €2,075 billion, or 29.7%. The United Kingdom was second with €1,262 billion, or 18.1%, followed by Switzerland with €602 billion, or 8.6%. The Cayman Islands held €323 billion, or 4.6%, and Japan €249 billion, or 3.6%. Singapore held 3.5%, Canada 3.2% and Bermuda 2.8%.
Gibraltar and Jersey each accounted for 2.1% of FDI stocks in the EU. Investment from the Gulf has also featured in recent announcements, including a UAE investment package of €40 billion for Germany. The EU’s external position also includes a current account surplus, which reached 2.4% of GDP in the first quarter of 2026. Foreign investment data are compiled from member states’ balance of payments statistics. Bermuda, Gibraltar and Jersey are among the offshore financial centres in the ranking.
EU investment abroad led by US and UK
On the outward side, the United States absorbed 29.4% of the EU’s FDI stocks in the rest of the world, worth €2,791 billion. The United Kingdom held €1,877 billion, or 19.8%, and Switzerland €812 billion, or 8.6%. Brazil accounted for €310 billion, or 3.3%, while Canada held €246 billion, or 2.6%. These five destinations accounted for almost two-thirds of the total. Brazil was the largest destination in Latin America.
The Cayman Islands and Mexico each held 2.4% of EU outward FDI stocks. China, excluding Hong Kong, and Singapore each accounted for 2.3%, and Bermuda for 2.0%. EU outward stocks fell by about €222 billion in 2025, while inward stocks dropped by around €198 billion. The EU’s outward position remained about €2,491 billion larger than foreign holdings in the bloc. The United States was the top partner in both directions.