The Government of the Republic of Serbia rendered the new Ordinance on Conditions, Manner and Procedure for Awarding the State-owned Agricultural Land for Use for Non-agricultural Purpose, that came into force on 10 September 2022.

Cobalt has advised PRFoods on the sale of its Swedish business to Vattudalens Fisk.

Boyanov & Co has advised Yara International on the sale of Bulgarian and Romanian businesses Yara Bulgaria and Yara Digital Romania to the Nik Group. Wolf Theiss advised the buyer.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia rendered the new Ordinance on Conditions, Manner and Procedure for Awarding the State-owned Agricultural Land for Use for Non-agricultural Purpose, that came into force on 10 September 2022.

The Ministry of Economy has officially announced the opening of the call for submission of applications under the state aid scheme regulated by Government Decision no. GD 959/2022 for financing assets and/or salary costs. The period for submitting financing requests is scheduled between 1 November 2022 to 16 December 2022, when investors may file the relevant documentation.

In its most recent decision in connection with the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (the Habitats Directive), the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) found that environmental organisations (EOs) – contrary to the principles of process prerequisites in the Austrian legal system – do not have to prove an interest in legal protection.

Ellex has advised Bigbank on its EUR 20 million issuance of subordinated bonds.

Gessel has advised BNP Paribas Bank Polska on its capital investment in Autenti. Kondracki Celej reportedly advised Autenti on the deal.

Radu Taracila Padurari Retevoescu has advised the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on its EUR 25 million loan granted to Banca Transilvania. 

Ellex has advised Bigbank on its EUR 20 million issuance of subordinated bonds.

PRK Partners Advises Ceska Sporitelna, Komercni Banka, and UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia in the sale of bonds issued by EPH Financing.

Former CMS Senior Counsel Csongor Tompa has joined Bird & Bird’s Budapest office as Head of the Banking & Finance and Capital Markets practices.

According to the latest Position published by the Serbian Commission for the Protection of Competition, it is prescribed whether and in which cases the scope of one concentration can be several undertakings that are not considered interrelated.

This article provides an up-to-date overview of the currently existing FDI regimes in Hungary.

This article provides an up-to-date overview of the currently existing FDI regimes in Slovenia.

The Czech Act on Ultimate Beneficial Owners (the "UBO Act") has been effective since 1 June 2021. Not even a year and a half later, Czech lawmakers introduced an amendment to the UBO Act (the "Amendment") after significant pressure from the European Commission to comply with the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive ("AMLD5").

Former Compliance Partners Partner Jaroslaw Nowacki has founded Tau Nowacki focused on "operational compliance and AML in fintech and crypto."

Allen & Overy, in partnership with Clearstream and Euroclear, has advised on the drafting and implementation of bondholder tax certification procedures in the Czech Republic.

Andersen Legal has advised Solar Markt on a long-term strategic agreement with investor Hiventures. Moore Legal Kovacs advised Hiventures.

B2RLaw has become the official legal advisor and partner to the Polish Paddle Tennis Federation.

TGS Baltic has advised InMedica on its acquisition of the Vilnius Implantology Center Clinic from the OP Group. Walless advised the seller.

Thanks to its qualities - environmental friendliness and a wide range of applications, hydrogen occupies an increasingly central place as an energy carrier. Focus on its use, and in particular on the use of green hydrogen, is also placed at European Union (“EU”) level, where in a number of acts, it is considered an important factor for decarbonization, fulfillment of the global goals of the Paris Agreement and achievement of carbon neutrality until 2050. The reason is that both hydrogen and electricity can be generated from greenhouse gas neutral sources addressing climate change and air quality issues. To deploy green hydrogen and turn it into a viable solution to decarbonize, a lot of investments and a favorable regulatory framework are required.

Andersen Legal has advised Solar Markt on a long-term strategic agreement with investor Hiventures. Moore Legal Kovacs advised Hiventures.

Rymarz Zdort has advised Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo on a number of gas sales agreements with Equinor for natural gas from the Norwegian continental shelf to be delivered to Poland via the Baltic Pipe gas pipeline, through Denmark. 

Everlegal has announced its cooperation with the Danish Refugee Council to implement an online legal support platform aimed at helping Ukrainians around the world.

Following a long lasting process since 2010 the European Court of Human Rights (the “ECHR”) held that Slovakia violated right to property due to the refusal of its courts to enforce an International Chamber of Commerce (the “ICC”) arbitral award ruling that the National Property Fund of Slovakia (the “NPF”) was due to pay BTS Holding (“BTS”) approx. EUR 1.9 million plus interest. (the “Decision”)

We can probably all agree that no one likes bad surprises, and the same especially holds truth with respect to unexpected outcomes of legal proceedings. When it comes to civil proceedings before Croatian courts, so-called “surprise” decisions were recently introduced into Croatian legislation by Articles 5 and 367a of the new Croatian Civil Proceedings Act which entered into force on 19 July 2022.

Former Filip & Company Of Counsel Oana Voda has joined Dentons’ Bucharest office as Head of Public Procurement.

CMS has advised Vier Gas Transport on its successful participation in a tender for selecting a consultant for monitoring and control of the implementation of a commercial dispatcher center for the Interconnection Greece-Bulgaria project held by ICGB AD.

Suciu Popa has successfully represented Iris-Aly Explorer in a dispute related to the concession of public property goods.

Contributed by Guleryuz & Partners.

Contributed by Senica & Partners.

Contributed by CMS.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, in every industry where it was possible employers transferred their employees to work from home.

Former KPMG Lawyer Romana Szutanyi has joined Rowan Legal as Head of Employment.

One of the questions that is often risen in practice is whether there is an obligation to conclude a contract with an individual who is registered as a legal representative, i.e., director of a company, and who does not establish an employment relationship in that company. In relation thereto, there are also inquiries whether it is mandatory to provide for a compensation for the work of a director who is not employed with the company, as well as what are the tax obligations of the company regarding the compensation that a director receives for performing the respective capacity.

TGS Baltic has advised InMedica on its acquisition of the Vilnius Implantology Center Clinic from the OP Group. Walless advised the seller.

Life Sciences R&D has consistently been touted as one of the Czech government’s top priorities – and the markets and investors have not been indifferent. We reached out to several experts to check up on the overall health of life sciences R&D in the Czech Republic and learn how that priority translates into practice.

Kinstellar has advised telecommunications operator Kyivstar on its acquisition of a controlling stake in digital healthcare company Helsi.

Consumer Arbitration Committees’ Regulation (the "Regulation") was published in the Official Gazette dated 21.09.2022 and numbered 31960.

Former Suciu Popa Senior Associate Daiana Ichimescu has joined Adesman & Asociatii as a Partner.

Cobalt has successfully represented Latvian news magazine Ir before Latvia’s Supreme Court in defamation proceedings.

Sorainen has represented Nigerian state-owned company Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria in an oral hearing before the CJEU in a case against aviation company Lufthansa.

Greenberg Traurig has advised the Trigea Real Estate Fund on its acquisition of a logistics park near Poland's Tricity. DLA Piper reportedly advised the seller.

Clifford Chance has advised Prologis on its EUR 1.585 billion acquisition of Crossbay's urban logistics portfolio from Crossbay and Mark. Dentons advised the sellers.

Pohla & Hallmagi has advised Deck Marine Systems on an agreement with Fairbanks Morse Defense with the aim to expand the capabilities of FMD to serve unmanned marine vehicles. Jansson Munger McKinley & Kirby reportedly advised FMD.

BNT Attorneys in CEE has advised Aros Marine on the insolvency proceedings of Germany’s MV Werften group.

The Elmacioglu Law Office has announced the formation of a collaborative partnership with Seoulsolution.

Andersen Legal has advised Solar Markt on a long-term strategic agreement with investor Hiventures. Moore Legal Kovacs advised Hiventures.

Brandl Talos has advised Kompas and Herbst Kinsky has advised Ventech on co-leading the USD 11 million Series A investment round into Prewave. Act Legal WMWP reportedly advised Prewave on the round.

The dynamic M&A and Private Equity practice has been the standard bearer for Jalsovszky in the past few months, mainly driven by the post-pandemic release of investment funds and booming production and healthcare sectors in Hungary, according to Practice Leader Agnes Bejo.

Ellex has provided pro bono legal services for the production of the 2022 documentary film Sisters in Longing, directed by Elita Klavina.

Dentons has provided pro bono legal representation to whistleblower Maria Koranova, an employee of a state-funded organization founded by Slovakia’s Ministry of Health.

Sorainen has provided pro bono legal assistance to the Papardes Zieds association on launching its new website.

Norton Rose Fulbright has advised Panattoni Europe on the construction of a Tychy production facility for Hager.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised the Passerinvest Group on its acquisition of Prague’s Gamma office project from Immofinanz. Wilsons advised the seller.

Imagine receiving a letter that your real estate located in Bulgaria will, in fact, “change” its location within the neighborhood. This can come up as a shock to any international investor in Bulgaria. Such companies might wish to finance certain entrepreneurial construction activity in Bulgaria, and therefore, acquire one or more plots of land. This sort of legal conundrum is indeed possible in Bulgaria and this article will look into its intricacies.

According to the latest figures from the National Institute for Statistics and other public information, the annual inflation rate has continued to rise and, at 15.32% in August, reached its highest rate in 20 years. Inflation has been rising at a galloping rate over the past year, both globally and nationally. 

One of the questions that is often risen in practice is whether there is an obligation to conclude a contract with an individual who is registered as a legal representative, i.e., director of a company, and who does not establish an employment relationship in that company. In relation thereto, there are also inquiries whether it is mandatory to provide for a compensation for the work of a director who is not employed with the company, as well as what are the tax obligations of the company regarding the compensation that a director receives for performing the respective capacity.

As of 1 July 2022, Hungary's already existing financial transaction tax has been extended to payment service provision, credit and loan provision, currency exchange and mediated currency exchange services provided on a cross-border basis in Hungary. Provision of cross-border services means financial services provided in a country other than the country where the seat, place of business, head office, or branch of the service provider is located. Basically, this means that non-Hungarian service providers providing such services to Hungarian customers will most probably be affected by this extension.

Brandl Talos has advised Kompas and Herbst Kinsky has advised Ventech on co-leading the USD 11 million Series A investment round into Prewave. Act Legal WMWP reportedly advised Prewave on the round.

Everlegal has announced its cooperation with the Danish Refugee Council to implement an online legal support platform aimed at helping Ukrainians around the world.

Moral, Kinikoglu, Pamukkale, Kokenek has advised Softline Holding on its acquisition of 80% of shares of Makronet Bilgi Teknolojileri from Gucly Tugay. Bener advised the seller.

Dentons has provided pro bono legal representation to whistleblower Maria Koranova, an employee of a state-funded organization founded by Slovakia’s Ministry of Health.

Hosted by Penkov, Markov & Partners, nine lawyers from Bulgaria – six working in-house and three in private practice – sat down for a round table conversation to discuss the EU Whistleblowing Directive and how it will impact companies in the country.

The Law on whistleblowers’ protection was approved on 29 June 2022 by the Chamber of Deputies.