The Romanian Government has recently brought important amendments to the energy regulatory framework by way of the new Government Emergency Ordinance no. 74/2020, effective May 19, 2020. According to the new regulations, new energy producing facilities, both renewable and conventional, commissioned after June 1, 2020, would be allowed to sell their output outside the current centralized energy market, at negotiated prices, with the observance of competitive rules. The amendment is intended as an exception to the general principle set out by Energy Law no. 123/2012 that transactions with electricity are carried out on the competitive market, in a transparent, public, centralized, and non-discriminatory manner.

M&A practitioners, fund managers and CEOs are living a 2020 that is rich in experiences. Of course, we all hoped this to be the best year since the 2008 crisis.

Something Needs to Be Done

A popular meme these days is “<<2020 is the year I am going to…>> 2020: <<Hahaha. No.>>”.

The Spring of 2020 was about to blossom when the world got trapped in a global shutdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The private sector tried to adapt by activating continuity plans. Working from home and interacting online with colleagues and customers has become the new paradigm for service businesses. In addition to a wide range of social distancing restrictions designed to contain the virus (including closing down or significantly limiting public access to many commercial, government, and leisure facilities), Romanian authorities have instituted various specific temporary relief measures, such as unemployment benefits; moratoria on consumer and corporate debt, business rent, and utilities expenses; state aid schemes representing loan and guarantee facilities for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs); guarantees for mortgage loans; filing deferral for tax returns and rescheduling of income and property tax; and waivers of mandatory insolvency filing  and extension of certain stages in pending insolvency cases.

On February 11, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that Filip & Company, working with Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, had advised RCS & RDS / Digi Communications N.V. on its issuance of two series of senior secured bonds with a total value of EUR 850 million. Clifford Chance Badea and Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton advised the lead arrangers, which included Citibank, ING Bank N.V., and UniCredit Bank S.A.

An interview with Simon Dayes, Partner at Dentons in Bucharest, about his path from the UK to Romania.

Juncu has been with Mondelez since 2018, when she joined it on secondment from Stratula & Asociatiii. In April 2019, she took on her current role.

Florina Homeghiu spent the first decade of her career in private practice before, in 2017 moving in-house with the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company – Romania, initially as Senior Legal Counsel, then, in 2018, as Country Legal Manager and Compliance Officer. In May of 2020 she joined the Policolor-Orgachim group.

The Romanian legal market got overheated in the past couple of years. The numbers went up and competition increased. The industry got more sophisticated and a variety of success stories unfolded.

In a recent warning, the European Union Commission sent infringement letters to Romania and seven other countries alerting them that they had failed to notify the EC of any implementation measures related to the transposition of the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (EU Directive 2018/843, or AML 5) into national law, and instructing them to proceed with the transposition, which was supposed to have happened by January 10th, 2020, immediately.

Contributed by Filip and Company.

Contributed by Ijdelea Mihailescu

After a period of uncertainty arising from the absence of any regulations related to ridesharing activities through digital platforms, which included a tumultuous series of strikes and protests by traditional cab service providers in major Romania cities, on June 25, 2019, the Government of Romania passed Government Emergency Ordinance 49/2019 on Ridesharing by Cars with Drivers.

Law Firm Marketing experts from across the region answer the question: “What is your experience of working with an external public relations firm?“

The interest of foreign investors in acquiring real estate in Romania has grown significantly since the January 1, 2014 expiration of the country’s prohibition against EU citizens and businesses acquiring agricultural land. Land is available at competitive prices, compared with many other European countries, and other advantages include the facts that Romania holds an important share of the European crop land due to its grain production, has a favorable position within export routes, has high-quality soil, and has a climate suitable for a wide range of agricultural investments.

In The Corner Office we ask Managing Partners across Central and Eastern Europe about their unique roles and responsibilities. The question this time around: What was the most useful or valuable piece of software or new technology your firm has acquired in the past five years?

CMS Partner Ana Radnev on developments in Restructuring/Insolvency across CEE