Wolf Theiss has advised DCC on the acquisition of UGI International's Flaga-branded liquid gas businesses in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, which together serve approximately 12,000 customers.

Gide has advised Hines on the sale of the Wola Center office complex in Warsaw to Trigea Real Estate Fund. CMS advised Trigea Real Estate Fund.

DLA Piper has advised ASTA Energy Solutions on its initial public offering on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Schoenherr, working with Linklaters, advised the banks involved.

Selih & Partnerji has advised Datatec Group subsidiary Westcon-Comstor on the acquisition of REAL Security. Kirm Perpar advised REAL Security.

Taylor Wessing has advised CIG Pannonia Eletbiztosito and its subsidiary CIG Pannonia Elso Magyar Altalanos Biztosito on a series of insurance portfolio transfer transactions. Oppenheim advised Europ Assistance Irish Branch – one of the counterparties.

Wolf Theiss has advised Raiffeisenlandesbank Niederoesterreich-Wien on its green bond issuance of EUR 500 million in 3.375% Callable Fixed to Floating Rate Green Ordinary Senior Eligible Notes due 2032. Hogan Lovells reportedly advised the international banking consortium working on the issuance.

Norton Rose Fulbright has advised PKO Bank Polski and Bank Millennium on the PLN 262 million financing construction of two neighbouring photovoltaic installations with a combined capacity of up to 100-megawatt-peak, located in Grabno, Poland. Clifford Chance advised sponsor Afcon Renewable Energy.

Eversheds Sutherland has advised Accession Capital Partners on the financing for Agrova International's acquisition of Sunrise Eggs. Higgs reportedly advised Agrova International. Gateley reportedly advised the sellers.

Rymarz Zdort Maruta, working with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Stibbe, has advised Grant Thornton Advisors on the addition of Grant Thornton Polska to its multinational platform, which was formed in 2025 with the support of a group of investors led by New Mountain Capital. MFW Fialek advised Grant Thornton Polska.

Clifford Chance has advised Alternatifbank on the issuance of USD 200 million Perpetual Fixed Rate Resettable Additional Tier 1 Notes. HSF reportedly advised the joint lead managers.

Walless has advised SW Energia on its sale to the Danpower Group.

Paksoy has advised Sanofi on the sale of a 70% stake in the company operating its pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Luleburgaz, Turkiye, to Fareva.

Polish law firm Instytut Prawa Konkurencji lawyers Monika Bychowska, Maria Mrowka, and Elzbieta Witkowska-Grochowalska have joined Gessel.

Lexaria Attorneys at Law has opened for business in Turkiye with four Partners as founders: Gurbuz Sari, Emre Senar Bozkurt, Murat Batur, and Funda Buzdagli Bozkurt.

Krzysztof Zieba and Michal Kulesza have joined Bird & Bird’s Warsaw office as Partners.

Bulboaca & Asociatii has promoted Raluca Ilie to a Partner.

Binder Groesswang has promoted Johannes Bammer and Felix Fuith to Partner in a promotion round that also saw five other lawyers promoted to Counsel.

Bulent Gokdemir has joined CoPartners as a Partner.

Venturis Consulting Group has advised London-based international law firm Pinsent Masons on its Polish market entry. 

Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing have joined forces, paving the way for the launch of Winston Taylor, a transatlantic law firm expected to begin operations in May 2026, subject to final regulatory approvals.

Pinsent Masons has announced it is opening an office in Warsaw in mid-2026 with a team of six Partners: Bartlomiej Kordeczka and Jakub Marcinkowski – who will lead the office – together with Piotr Staniszewski, Maciej Jodkowski, Blazej Zagorski, and Bartosz Nojek.

Oleksandr Frolov has joined Kinstellar's Kyiv office as a Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution.

Eversheds Sutherland has promoted Clemens Stieger to Partner in Austria.

Tegos has promoted Karolina Lapinskaite to Partner in its office in Lithuania.

Law No. 96/2025 “On whistleblowing and the protection of whistleblowers” (Law No. 96/2025) establishes a new and consolidated framework for the reporting of violations and the protection of whistleblowers, in both the public and private sectors.

As of 1 January 2026, Bulgaria adopted the euro as its official currency. All Bulgarian companies are required to update their corporate documents to reflect their share capital and the nominal value per share in EUR by 31 December 2026.

The introduction of e-invoicing marks a pivotal moment in the digital transformation of the economy in Southeast Europe. In both North Macedonia and Serbia, the transition to electronic invoicing is reshaping the relationship between businesses, the state, and financial institutions. While the initial focus has understandably been on compliance and technical implementation, the broader implications of e-invoicing deserve closer attention, particularly its potential to drive efficiency, legal certainty, and sustainable economic growth.

A single missing file. That is all it takes for an otherwise complete and competitive bid to be rejected in a public procurement procedure. No analysis, no checks, no clarifications. Between «Upload» and «Submit», a missing file, due to human error or, worse, not attributable to the bidder, can cost the rejection of the bid, apparently without any “loophole” for rescue clause.

Bulgaria is currently embroiled in a scandal involving unauthorized video surveillance footage from laser hair removal procedures. The footage has reportedly surfaced on adult websites globally. A similar case was subsequently uncovered within a gynecological practice. Beyond the ethical outrage and the trauma inflicted upon the victims, these incidents reveal a complex matrix of violations across administrative, civil, and criminal law - further complicated by the nuances of special categories of data and EU data protection legislation.

Bulgaria has adopted a fully redesigned collective redress and representative action framework, implementing Directive (EU) 2020/1828 and modifying both the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and the Civil Procedure Code (CPC).

Ukraine has formally launched an Interdepartmental Commission on the Screening of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), marking an important institutional step toward a structured, transparent approach to assessing how foreign investments may affect national security—particularly under conditions of martial law.

On 7 January 2026, an online portal for submitting investment projects to the United States–Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund officially opened. The launch marks the Fund’s move into the operational phase and the start of its active investment activities.

Reforms that were supposed to increase predictability and foreseeability of court decisions have instead created an environment with a significant number of contradictory conclusions and deviations in the practice of the Supreme Court. Formal cassation filters, vague criteria for determining legal conclusions and the lack of a procedural tool for their coordination complicate the work of both lawyers and lower court judges. Improvements in the administration of justice can be achieved, in particular, by amending the current procedural rules.

Effective 1 February 2026, Emergency Ordinance No. 91/2025 introduces a material change to the medical leave indemnity regime in Romania: the first day of medical leave will not be compensated. Under the previous framework, employers covered the first five days of medical leave indemnity. Going forward, only days 2–6 will be paid by the employer. This temporary measure is in effect until 31 December 2027 and warrants careful consideration from both an employment law and payroll reporting perspective.

The Constitutional Court of Montenegro, at its session held 28 January 2026, annulled Article 35a of the Internal Trade Act (Zakon o unutrašnjoj trgovini “Official Gazette of Montenegro”, Nos. 049/08, 040/11, 038/19 and 084/24) (“Internal Trade Act“), imposing a ban on the operation of retail businesses on Sundays and on public holidays. The court found that the ban was inconsistent with the constitutional guarantees of freedom of entrepreneurship and equality before the law.

In recent months, Polish employment law has undergone extensive reform, with several legislative amendments and new regulatory obligations entering into force across key areas of workforce management.

Michal Dobrowolski (45) has about 20 years of transaction experience in M&A and private equity. bpv Huegel continues its strong, dynamic growth in M&A and private equity with this team expansion.

RTPR has assisted Proinvest Group SRL in relation to the sale of the insulating panel division to Lattonedil S.p.A., a leading Group in Europe in the production and marketing of insulating panels.

RTPR advised AROBS Transilvania Software, an important Romanian company that provides software services and solutions in various industries and the largest tech company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, on the acquisition of majority stake in Global Engineering Services & Solutions S.R.L.

The law firm bpv Huegel provided comprehensive support to NÖM AG during its merger with Vorarlberg Milch.

The international sales process for the renowned Vienna Marriott Hotel at Parkring Vienna has been successfully completed with its acquisition by an international consortium of investors.

AIR ARABIA WAS FOUND COMPLIANT DURING A RECENT PROCEDURE OF PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA ACROSS THE EU

bpv Huegel successfully advised RWA Raiffeisen Ware Austria Aktiengesellschaft (RWA) on the sale of its share in AUSTRIA JUICE GmbH to AGRANA Beteiligungs-Aktiengesellschaft.

RWA eGen completes the purchase of shares in RWA AG from BayWa AG. The acquisition financing was structured and provided by Raiffeisen Bank International AG.

bpv Huegel is delighted to appoint Johannes Mitterecker as a partner. He works in the Corporate Law/M&A practice group and specialises in M&A transactions, restructuring and sports law.

RTPR has assisted the syndicate of banks in connection with a RON 3.1 billion syndicated loan granted to Electrica.

From the 1st May, 2025 Markian Malskyy becomes the new managing partner of ARZINGER, replacing Timur Bondaryev, founding partner. Timur Bondaryev has held this position almost ever since the firm was founded 23 years ago and, together with other partners, has built a strong legal brand.

This makes bpv Huegel’s tax practice top-ranked in Chambers Europe. This confirms the leading position of bpv Huegel in tax law advice.