Cobalt has advised Consolis Latvia on a partnership agreement with the Nordex Group.

Your Legal Partners has advised on the Public-Private Partnership project titled "Design, Construction, Financing, Maintenance and Operation of Seventeen School Units in the Region of Central Macedonia" to be undertaken by ATESE and Metlen Energy & Metals. Karatzas and Partners advised Piraeus Bank as the lender on the project.

Stratulat Albulescu has advised Prime Label and Innova Capital on Prime Label's acquisition of Grafoprint. EY Law Romanian affiliate Bancila Diaconu si Asociatii advised the sellers.

A&O Shearman has advised Reinsberg Group on its acquisition of a majority stake in Brandon Medical. Veronique Marot & Co Solicitors reportedly advised Brandon Medical.

Clifford Chance has advised the EBRD on a USD 200 million loan to A101 Yeni Magazacilik for supporting environmental and social sustainability initiatives.

Stratulat Albulescu has advised Express Euroscan on the acquisition of Denis Spedition SRL and Denis Spedition GMBH.

Greenberg Traurig has advised two shareholders of Elektromontaz-Poznan – Pawel Gricuk and Artur Cakala – on the sale of their shares to Spie Group. Baker McKenzie advised Spie Group.

Dentons has advised Cavare on the sale of the Ostrobramska Project in Warsaw to LifeSpot. Rymarz Zdort Maruta advised LifeSpot.

Sayenko Kharenko has advised the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on a EUR 35 million finance package to the city of Kharkiv to help tackle the impact of the ongoing war.

Baker McKenzie has advised Emirates NBD Bank, Goldman Sachs International, HSBC Bank J.P. Morgan Securities, and Merrill Lynch International as joint bookrunners on Zorlu Enerji's USD 800 million debut Rule 144A/Reg S senior guaranteed sustainability-linked notes issuance. White & Case and its Turkish affiliate GKC Partners advised Zorly Enerji.

King & Spalding has advised the syndicate of joint lead managers on Telekom Srbija Beograd’s USD 900 million senior notes offering. Gecic Law, working with Clifford Chance, advised Telekom Srbija.

Schoenherr and Madirazza & Partners have advised RP Global on Mirova's agreement to invest up to EUR 480 million in RP Global Energy. Clifford Chance reportedly advised RP Global as well. White & Case's Paris office reportedly advised Mirova. Spain-based Uria Menendez, Portugal-based Abreu Advogados, France-based LPA-CGR Avocats, Germany-based Chatham Partners, and the Italian office of DWF reportedly advised RP Global on the matter as well. 

Nicolas Wolski has become the new Head of Tax at BPV Huegel, taking over from Partner Gerald Schachner.

Former Dentons Partner and Co-head of the Banking and Finance team Piotr Nerwinski has joined Greenberg Traurig as Partner and Head of the Project and Structured Finance along with a team of six lawyers.

Former Ellex Associate Partner Gyte Maleckaite has joined Adon Legal as Counsel.

Former DZP Partner Rafal Grochowski and his team have moved to SSW Pragmatic Solutions.

JPM Partners has announced its expansion into North Macedonia via the integration of Tosic & Jevtic into its regional network.

Dentons’ Europe Partners have elected Amsterdam-based Partner Wendela Raas as the firm’s Europe CEO succeeding Tomasz Dabrowski. Raas will start her term on November 1, 2024.

Former Baker McKenzie's Turkish affiliate Esin Attorney Partnership Senior Associate Ceyda Sila Cetinkaya has joined Merzigo as a Senior Vice President.

PS Legal has opened for business in Belgrade with Partners Aleksandra Stojanovic and Milos Pandzic as its founders.

Popov, Arnaudov and Partners has opened a representative office in Plovdiv with Partner Sibina Eftenova at the helm.

Karel Petrzela has been promoted to Partner at White & Case in a promotion round that saw a total of 37 partnership appointments throughout the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific regions.

BBH Managing Partner has moved in-house and joined Kaprain.

Turunc has promoted Beste Yildizili Ergul and Naz Esen to Managing Associates and appointed them to Co-Head of Employment and Co-Head of Corporate Advisory teams, respectively.

I am not a political expert, but I grew up in Hungary and the United States and have always focused on both countries' policies and political climates. These opinions are based on what I have seen over the past ten-plus years of living between our countries and the policies we have seen from Harris and Trump (either spoken or acted). Both candidates have notable implications for Hungary's relationship with the United States. It could impact NATO dynamics, visa policies, and economic agreements. Each candidate offers distinct approaches that could affect Hungary’s foreign policy and its alignment within Europe.

The Croatian Lobbying Act (Official Gazette 36/2024, the “Act”) entered into force on 1 October 2024, marking Croatia’s first comprehensive regulation of lobbying activities. The Act establishes significant new rules for lobbyists and companies alike, requiring compliance when interacting with public officials to advocate for business or organisational interests. This regulatory development represents a transformative shift in how entities engage with policymakers and will necessitate careful attention to adherence with these newly established standards.

The National Council of the Slovak Republic has recently approved significant changes to the Value Added Tax (VAT) rates, which will come into effect as of January 1, 2025. Here are the key updates:

NNDKP Environment Flash No. 10/2024:

Several provisions of the new Act on Hungarian Architecture ("Architecture Act") entered into force on 1 October 2024, as a result of which the previous Building Act was repealed. The Architecture Act has taken over and supplemented many of the provisions of the previous Building Act, however, also contains a number of new rules.

New Joint Instruction No. 196/2024, “On cooperation between the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Culture, and Innovation, and the State Intelligence Service regarding the issuance of residence permits for foreigners” (the “Instruction”), came into effect on 22 October 2024. This Instruction, aimed at clarifying and improving coordination among public institutions, does not amend existing residence or unique permit (i.e., a residence permit issued for employment purposes that combines both the residence and work permit) procedures for foreign nationals. Instead, it reaffirms the established process, ensuring that it remains consistent while improving transparency and efficiency.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has recently rendered a significant judgement regarding the interpretation of legitimate interest as a legal basis for personal data processing. Deciding on a case involving the fine imposed by the Dutch data protection authority (“AP”) on the Royal Dutch Tennis Association (“KNLTB”) for sharing its members’ personal data for commercial purposes, the CJEU confirmed that legitimate interest can cover purely commercial interests. This decision is important for both EU member states and Serbia, where there is still no clear practice or opinion from the competent authorities on the lawful application of data processing based on legitimate interest.

Raising funds on the capital market—through the issuance of shares or bonds—provides companies with substantial advantages. Obtaining funds through capital market not only facilitates diversification of financial portfolios and reduces dependence on bank financing but also conveys a strong message to the issuer’s customers and business partners, illustrating the commitment to high standards of corporate governance. At the same time, by ensuring that the company’s securities are publicly listed, its members of the management board take responsibility towards the company itself, the shareholders, and other investors.

The Law on the Waiver of Interest on Outstanding Tax Obligations (“Law”) has been officially adopted and will take effect on 1 January 2025. This Law allows for the waiver of unpaid interest on tax obligations that became due before 31 December 2024.

The General Secretariat of the Belgian data protection authority has published an informational booklet outlining the relationship between the EU General Data Protection Regulation and the Artificial Intelligence Regulation, which came into force on 1 August 2024. The authority’s aim with the informational booklet is to provide insights into the application of data protection requirements during the development and deployment of artificial intelligence systems. Data protection requirements and legal standards are key to ensure that artificial intelligence systems operate ethically, responsibly and lawfully.

Law 5123/2024 aims to modernize the institutional framework governing pledges by creating a streamlined and contemporary legislative structure. The new law is expected to come into force once the particulars of operation of the Electronic Pledge Registry are determined by the Hellenic Cadastre’s Board of Directors or the 31st of December 2024, whichever comes first. Specifically, for share pledges, the current legal regime involves numerous formalities, and reducing these requirements would be welcomed by legal practitioners.

Starting on 1 January 2025, the parallel import of medicines into Ukraine will come into force, allowing dealers that are authorised by manufacturers of medicinal products to import medicines in parallel with said manufacturers. The expected outcomes of this new regime are higher competition and lower prices for relevant medicines.

JŠK advised PRE Group on its acquisition of 100% stake in solar power plant supplier SolidSun.

The Reverse Share Split at a ratio of 10:1 to reclassify the company's share capital was resolved at the Annual General Meeting on 14 June 2024.

The IMMOFINANZ Group acquired a further approx. 38% of S IMMO shares from CPI Property Group SA for a purchase price of around EUR 608.5 million.

Drakopoulos is pleased to announce the launch of its new Data and Digital practice, dedicated to providing comprehensive legal solutions to clients navigating the increasingly complex landscape of data protection, digital transformation, AI, cybersecurity and emerging technologies.

The Montenegrin Law on Business Organizations prohibits the return of contributions to shareholders. But is capital reduction with simultaneous payment to shareholders permissible? This article explores the legal ambiguities and practical challenges arising from this question.

The ITR Tax Awards recognise the best tax consultants and tax lawyers every year. bpv Huegel was awarded twice this year.

RTPR has assisted the shareholders of 123FormBuilder – 212 Regional Fund II, Catalyst Romania, Florin Cornianu and Adrian Gheara – in relation to the sale of the company to American group Kiteworks.

Oliver Koppany will be joining Jalsovszky as Foreign Legal Counsel from September, focusing on US-Hungarian business connections.

Paul Pfeifenberger (36) specialises in real estate and has been with bpv Huegel since 2015.

RTPR has assisted OX2 in relation to the sale of a 99.2 MW onshore wind project located in the Eastern part of Romania to Nala Renewables, a joint venture between IFM Investors and Trafigura.

RTPR has assisted private equity fund Innova Capital in relation to the sale of Optical Investment Group to EssilorLuxottica, a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of ophthalmic lenses, frames and sunglasses.

RTPR has assisted Vectr Holdings, through its subsidiary Vectr Realty Holdings, in relation to the indirect acquisition of 100% stake in the company that owns The Landmark from funds managed by Revetas Capital and affiliates of Cerberus Capital Management.