Avellum has advised Kernel Holding on the sale of several of its farming entities to a company controlled by Andrii Verevskyi.

Cobalt has advised Avena Nordic Grain on the sale of its Estonian and Lithuanian grain trade businesses to the Scandagra Group. Walless advised Scandagra on the deal.

Directive (EU) 2019/633 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 April 2019 concerning unfair business-to-consumer trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain has recently been transposed into Romanian legislation by Law no. 81/2022, in force since 15 April 2022 ("Law no. 81 /2022").

On the 9th of March 2022, the Croatian Parliament adopted the amendments to two crucial Croatian laws – the Companies Act (ZTD) and Court Registry Act (ZSR). Most of the amendments to the ZSR entered into force on the 24th of March; two articles will be entering into force on the 1st of August 2022, and another one on the 1st of August 2023. Amendments to the ZTD are still to come into force, some on the 1st of June 2022, and others (the most significant ones) only on the 1st of August 2023.

More countries, that have, until recently, been considered the pandemic’s epicenter, are easing COVID restrictions. Serbia takes the same direction and cancels majority of COVID-19 related restrictive measures.

Several amendments to the by-laws passed to the Law on Electronic Invoicing (“the Law”) are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia no. 46 dated 8 April 2022, i.e.:

Souriadakis Tsibris has advised Goldman Sachs on establishing a branch in Athens.

Former Rymarz Zdort Partner Marcin Iwaniszyn has joined Baker McKenzie’s Warsaw office as a Partner and Head of its Banking & Finance practice.

Several amendments to the by-laws passed to the Law on Electronic Invoicing (“the Law”) are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia no. 46 dated 8 April 2022, i.e.:

Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen has advised Marcos Provit on its EUR 8.5 million cross-border corporate bond issuance through a private placement under the coordination of CVI Dom Maklerski. Wolf Theiss advised CVI.

Cobalt has advised Latvenergo AS on its issuance of EUR 100 million five-year green bonds with a fixed annual interest rate and a yield to maturity of 2.42%.

Dentons’ Turkey affiliate Balcioglu Selcuk Ardiyok Keki Attorney Partnership has advised on Suwen Tekstil's TRY 425.5 million IPO.

Zlatan Balta has joined Legal Partners, in cooperation with Deloitte Legal, as the leader of its legal practice in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Wolf Theiss and Yavuz & Uyanik & Akalin have advised 4iG Nyrt on the acquisition of an 80.27% stake in AlbTelecom from a subsidiary of Turkey's Calik Holding. Tashko Pustina reportedly advised the sellers. The deal was cleared by the Albanian Competition Authority on March 4, 2022.

Over the recent years, digitalisation and digital services have been at the core of many innovative advantages for businesses and end users alike. These benefits range from online intermediation services to software application stores. This variety offers better and more efficient choices for users while increasing competition within the digital markets industry.

Jan Kubicek has joined British American Tobacco in the Czech Republic as Senior Legal Counsel.

Partner and Head of Environmental practice Ewa Rutkowska-Subocz was appointed to Head of the Europe Public Law and Regulatory practice at Dentons. 

Former Mediaworks Hungary General Counsel Istvan Szatmary has returned to private practice as a Partner.

CMS has advised Portugal's MGI Capital on the sale of Bezmer Energy to Philicon-97.

Zlatan Balta has joined Legal Partners, in cooperation with Deloitte Legal, as the leader of its legal practice in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Former Arzinger Law Office Partner Anna Zorya has joined Rymarz Zdort as Partner. She is joined by former Arzinger Associate Viktoriia Dobrynska.

CMS has advised Portugal's MGI Capital on the sale of Bezmer Energy to Philicon-97.

Triniti has advised Enersense on the exercise of its call option to increase its shareholding in the local Latvian affiliate Empower.

Doklestic Repic & Gajin has advised Beijing New Building Materials Plc on the transaction with the Coal Mine and Thermal Power Plant Ugljevik for the creation of a EUR 50 million gypsum board joint venture. China's Shihui Partners reportedly advised BNBM on the deal as well.

One of developments in the artificial intelligence sphere which raised most concerns about potential human rights violations is definitely facial recognition.

Pursuant to the Protocol No. 15 amending the European Convention on Human Rights ["ECHR / Convention"], the time-limit for the application to the European Court of Human Rights ["ECtHR"] was reduced from 6 months to 4 months, effective as of February 1, 2022. Accordingly, once remedies available as per domestic laws are exhausted, the application should be filed with the ECtHR within 4 months following the final court judgment. Having said that if the court decision was adopted before February 1, 2022, the ECtHR application based on this decision will still be subject to 6-month time-limit.

Dentons has successfully represented nine members of a Slovak Romani community before the District Court Kosice II, on a pro bono basis, in a seven-year dispute regarding their forced eviction.

The strongest forces shaping the dynamics of legal work in Bulgaria, according to Kinstellar Partner Antonia Mavrova, are the country’s recently approved Recovery and Resilience Plan and the branching consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Adriana Mierzwa-Bronikowska, Lukasz Jankowski, and Rafal Kluziak have been promoted to Local Partner, as part of DLA Piper’s recent promotion round that also included the recently reported promotion of Agnieszka Lehwark and Bartlomiej Palusiak to Partner (as reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 9, 2022).

Relatively recently, the legislative process has once more turned its attention to the former Draft Law amending Law no. 186/2013 on the establishment and operation of industrial parks (DL-x no. 250/2014) adopted by the Senate on 28 April 2014 and by the Chamber of Deputies, as decisional chamber, on 4 May 2022 ("Amending Law"). The Amending Law will enter into force after promulgation by the Romanian President, who, nevertheless, has the prerogative of sending it back to the Parliament for re-examination.

Deloitte Legal’s Reff & Associates has advised Studium Green on the acquisition of a portfolio of 100 buildings and properties from Immobiliare Italo Romena, a subsidiary of the former Italian bank Veneto Banca. Antico & Partners reportedly advised Immobiliare Italo Romena on the deal.

Ellex has advised the coordinating committee of ED&F Man Group’s senior creditors in refinancing and extending the group’s financial debt, with the transaction taking place simultaneously in over 30 jurisdictions.

The Hungarian Government issued a decree that amends certain provisions of the bank's liquidation proceedings.  The decree entered into force on 15 April, and it affects the solvent liquidation of Sberbank Hungary, subsidiary of Sberbank Europe AG, Hungarian member of the Russian Sberbank group. 

DLA Piper has announced that former Counsels Andra Trantea and Paula Corban-Pelin have been promoted to Local Partner with the firm’s Romanian office.

Amendments to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance (“the Law”) from 2019, notably Article 11 thereof, have eradicated the practical issues that used to exist in relation to the mandatory social insurance of persons working for foreign employers in Serbia.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the Slovak Labor Code has changed several times. In 2021, five amendments were adopted, and new changes are expected in 2022. Although we observe progressive changes, the labor code remains quite rigid. Its provisions on remote work do not distinguish between blue-collar and white-collar jobs, which makes their implementation more demanding. Remote working, constant changes to COVID-19 pandemic rules, vaccination, health and safety, data protection, and employment termination rules – these have been the most pressing issues that have led employers to turn to their legal advisors.

Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen has advised Marcos Provit on its EUR 8.5 million cross-border corporate bond issuance through a private placement under the coordination of CVI Dom Maklerski. Wolf Theiss advised CVI.

Wiercinski Kwiecinski Baehr has advised Blirt’s shareholders on the sale of a 96% stake to Qiagen. Wardynski & Partners reportedly advised Qiagen on the deal.

Filip & Company has advised Medicover on its acquisition of Laurus Medical network of clinics. Firon Bar-Nir advised the seller.

Zlatan Balta has joined Legal Partners, in cooperation with Deloitte Legal, as the leader of its legal practice in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Taylor Wessing has represented Slovakia's President Zuzana Caputova in a libel dispute with Member of Parliament Lubos Blaha.

Pohla & Hallmagi has successfully represented UK company Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association in Marshall Island-registered oil tanker Advantage Pride arrest proceedings.

White & Case has advised the CTP Group on its recent acquisition of a Polish logistics project portfolio from 7R. Linklaters advised 7R on the sale.

Walless has advised Turnit on its agreement with Samtrafiken to transfer a part of Sweden's bus, train, and urban multi-modal transport ticketing to the Turnit Ride platform.

Schoenherr has advised BlackPeak Capital on its EUR 7.5 million equity investment into EUShipments.com and its subsidiary InOut Trade. Wolf Theiss advised the founders of EUShipments.com and InOut Trade.

Pohla & Hallmagi has successfully represented UK company Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association in Marshall Island-registered oil tanker Advantage Pride arrest proceedings.

KP Law has advised Schottel on its acquisition of a majority stake in Elkon from Vera Capital. Pelister Atayilmaz Enkur advised the sellers.

January is always a good time to look back, take stock, and make plans. And 2021, while a complicated year, was in no way uneventful. Across CEE, we’ve had lawyers and law firms variously reporting on – besides the obvious pandemic-related restrictions and increased work flexibility – a record year for M&A transactions, growing green energy, effervescent capital markets, a surprisingly solid real estate sector, ascendant ESG practices, a renewed focus on infrastructure, and TMT going from strength to strength.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Byrd Technologies on its EUR 50 million Series C financing round led by Cambridge Capital and including Elevator Ventures, Mouro Capital, and Speedinvest.

B2RLaw has advised Partners for Growth on its USD 25 million venture debt financing for Opontia. Kinstellar Turkey affiliate Gen Temizer Ozer advised Partners for Growth on Turkish law matters with Rajah & Tann and Al Sharif Law advising the fund in Singapore and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

Stratulat Albulescu has advised Catalyst Romania Fund II on its participation in the EUR 2 million equity funding round of EdTech platform Adservio.

Rymarz Zdort has provided pro bono legal advice to the Save the Children International Foundation on the establishment and registration of its Polish operations.

JSK has provided pro bono advice to the Czech Technical University on securing a patent from the Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic on its pulmonary ventilator CoroVent.

TGS Baltic has provided pro bono assistance to Vilnius Jesuit High School in establishing a school-based untouchable capital sponsorship fund.

White & Case has advised the CTP Group on its recent acquisition of a Polish logistics project portfolio from 7R. Linklaters advised 7R on the sale.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised the VGP Group on leasing a 49,000 square-meter warehousing commercial space in VGP Park Olomouc to Hella Autotechnik Nova. Dentons reportedly advised Hella Autotechnik on the deal.

The strongest forces shaping the dynamics of legal work in Bulgaria, according to Kinstellar Partner Antonia Mavrova, are the country’s recently approved Recovery and Resilience Plan and the branching consequences of the war in Ukraine.

Serbian Personal Income Tax Law and Serbian Corporate Income Tax Law, as well as the Serbian Law on Mandatory Social Insurance Contributions, prescribe tax and social insurance contributions related reliefs for companies that conduct activities of research and development in the Republic of Serbia.

Ukrainian Parliament currently considers bill No 7232 that increases tax rates for Ukrainian businesses related to Russia (the “Measure”). The aim of the bill is to discourage corporations from Russian business activities. If successful, it should decrease Russian fiscal revenue, which will leave Russia with less funds available for warfare. There is, obviously, a huge social request and support for such measures. However, actual effect of the bill is far not that definitive.

Usage of corporate cards issued by goods and services providers to their corporate clients, have been recognized and regulated by the latest amendments of relevant Serbian regulations related to fiscalization and to VAT.

Wolf Theiss and Yavuz & Uyanik & Akalin have advised 4iG Nyrt on the acquisition of an 80.27% stake in AlbTelecom from a subsidiary of Turkey's Calik Holding. Tashko Pustina reportedly advised the sellers. The deal was cleared by the Albanian Competition Authority on March 4, 2022.

Herbst Kinsky has advised Byrd Technologies on its EUR 50 million Series C financing round led by Cambridge Capital and including Elevator Ventures, Mouro Capital, and Speedinvest.

A good idea is the cornerstone of a successful start-up. In practical terms, however, it is often not enough. Here is an overview of legal mistakes founders of start-ups often make but that can be easily avoided on the way to the next step towards success.

Mares & Mares' hot practice over the last 12 months has been their white-collar crime one, according to Managing Partner Mihai Mares. Trigger-happy authorities have been the main driver of work, with Mares expecting the levels of activity to continue to increase in light of the upcoming Whistleblowing Directive.

The Hungarian register of ultimate beneficial owners contains the data of the data providers falling under the scope of the act ruling the register of ultimate beneficial owners, for instance limited liability companies, public limited companies, associations, foundations or notary offices.

Paul Buta has been appointed to Managing Partner, while Alexandru Terta, Iuliana Iacob, and Andrei Ormenean made Partner at Musat & Asociatii.