Hungarian merger control is generally aligned with the relevant EU rules with only relatively minor exceptions or special rules. For example, a notable special rule – which follows similar trends in major European jurisdictions – is the existence of the soft threshold regime, which enables the Hungarian Competition Authority (the Gazdasági Versenyhivatal, “GVH”) to intervene in case the traditional/“hard” thresholds are not met, but where competition is threatened on a specific market (e.g. in case of “killer acquisitions”).

The Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye published the Guidelines on Correlating Business Models in the Field of Payments with Payment Service Types (“Guidelines”).
The Guidelines provide detailed explanations as to how payment services regulated under the Law No. 6493 on Payment and Securities Settlement Systems, Payment Services and Electronic Money Institutions (the “Law”) and the Regulation on Payment Services and Electronic Money Issuance and Payment Service Providers (the “Regulation”) can be correlated with the business models in the field of payments, in order to ensure compliance with the regulations and uniformity in operating licenses to be granted by the CBRT for authorizations. You can access the Guidelines here.

According to a non-binding opinion delivered on September 20, 2022, by Athanasios Rantos, influential adviser to the European Court of Justice, antitrust authorities may also assess infringement of personal data protection rules during their investigations.

Hungary's parliament passed a package of anti-corruption laws on 3 October 2022 as part of the commitments made by the government to the European Commission.

History shows that the last bastion of freedom of speech, which guarantees these values, is the free press. But it’s no secret that since 2015, key constitutional values have been in crisis. Over the past three years, there have been repeated legal actions by state institutions, state-owned companies, businessmen and other lobbying organizations aimed at stifling the work of journalists, publishers and NGOs.

In the last two months, the Commission for the Protection of Competition (“Commission”) initiated several different proceedings i.e., 3 gun-jumping cases, one for abuse of a dominant position and one case regarding restrictive agreements. It is necessary to pay attention to these proceedings, because they are not coincidences but rather are initiated due to Commission’s reasonable doubt that market participants have breached the Law on Protection of Competition of Republic of Serbia (“Law“).

Following a thorough evaluation and review of the 2010 rules regarding vertical agreements and concerted practices, the European Commission adopted the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (“VBER”), which entered into force on 1 June 2022, accompanied by revised Guidelines on Vertical Restraints. It is assumed that the latest alterations and their potential effects on the commercial ecosystem will slowly find their place in Turkish competition legislation and practice.

In the previous article, we have included information about the value of cryptocurrencies in the metaverse within the framework of the financial metaverse and the transactions that constitute the subject of the financial metaverse. Now, from the perspective of the financial metaverse, we will discuss the banking sector, the current status of cryptocurrencies in Turkey, and whether the digital products obtained as a result of financial transactions can be evaluated within the scope of property rights by the courts, the compliance processes and legal aspects that should be considered in Meta-Fi.

Warsaw, 25 November 2022 – HR departments located outside our country, acting on behalf of their employer, are nowadays a fairly common practice, especially in multinational corporations. What does the liability of these individuals look like? The risk of penal liability for minor offences committed by employees operating outside Poland against employees operating in Poland is low, but it can happen. This occurs in cases where the perpetrator acted outside Poland, but the consequences belonging to the elements of a minor offence ensued in Poland.

The Regulation on the Amendment (“Amendment Regulation”) of the Cosmetics Regulation (“Regulation”) was published in the Official Gazette dated 14 November 2022 and numbered 32013 and entered into force on the same date.

Late last year, the European Commission ("EC") adopted a legislative package on hydrogen and decarbonised gas, which includes a proposal for a Directive on Common Rules for Internal Markets in Renewable and Natural Gases and in Hydrogen ("Draft Gas Directive"). On 9 September 2022, the EC published a revised version of this directive, the key objective of which is to regulate hydrogen as an independent energy carrier.

“As the crypto industry grows, there will be an increasing array of financial activities on the public blockchain. That's why we want to make sure we're ready to not only support that but also provide relevant services.” Tyrone Lobban, JP Morgan's head of Blockchain Launch and Onyx Digital Assets

A proposal for the modification of the Labour Code was filed to the Hungarian Parliament on 2 November 2022. The bill aims to ensure compliance with the EU Directives No. 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers and No. 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions.

The requirement of social isolation caused by the global pandemic, has brought forth a new world order. During this period, workplaces invested in technology in order to preserve their business and enhance their productivity while starting to conduct almost all their activities through digital communication channels. Home offices/remote work that began during such period now became a permanent working model across different sectors.

Under Article 30 (5) (c) of Directive (EU) 2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering or terrorist financing (AML Directive 2015), Member States are obliged to ensure that information on beneficial ownership is accessible by any person or organisation that can demonstrate a legitimate interest in obtaining it.

On 4 October 2022, the Slovak parliament adopted an amendment to the Labour Code (the "Amendment") that enters into effect on 1 November 2022. The aim of the Amendment is mainly to implement two EU directives (No. 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions in the EU and No. 2019/1158 on work-life balance for parents and carers) and to respond to certain requirements resulting from application practice. In this article, we present an overview of the most important changes.

Keeping investments in or out of line with the development of the IT sector.

The Hungarian data protection authority (NAIH) fined Magyar Éremkibocsátó Kft, a limited liability company engaged in the numismatic business, HUF 30m (approx. EUR 73,000) for unlawful direct marketing activities.