Situated within the context of contemporary geoeconomic rivalries, this article examines the political and legal dynamics underpinning the European Union’s 2026 reform of the foreign direct investment (FDI) screening framework. By opening the “black box” of the trilogue negotiations, the study highlights a major paradigmatic shift: the transformation of FDI screening from an exceptional mechanism grounded in the exercise of national economic security policy into a fully-fledged doctrinal instrument of the European Union’s sovereignty. It thereby unpacks the tensions inherent in the European model of “liberal patriotism,” caught between the imperatives of financial openness and strategic protection, while revealing the complex agonistic struggles between supranational ambitions and the sovereigntist resistance of the Member States. In light of its innovative provisions, the article demonstrates that the new Regulation goes beyond its traditional role as a protective instrument to emerge as a vehicle for a novel European political identity, one that seeks to reconcile national sovereignty, a shared economic destiny, and the imperative of maintaining economic attractiveness.