In a recent judgment, the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) held that the claim "climate neutral" is ambiguous and often misleading unless the advertisement itself explains its specific meaning. This sets a trend for Austria, where courts have traditionally followed the standards set by the BGH in relation to environmental advertising when assessing such claims under unfair competition law. On an EU level, the restrictions regarding claims about greenhouse gas emissions are becoming even stricter, leaving advertisers with much to consider before making claims such as "climate neutral".

Articles 13 and 14, along with other provisions of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (the GDPR), require businesses to provide individuals with comprehensive information about the processing of their personal data.

The Act on Restrictive Measures (OG No. 133/2023, the “Act“) entered into force on 15 November 2023 (with the application of certain main provisions as of 15 May 2024). The Act establishes more effective due diligence and reporting procedures and mechanisms, which will enable the Republic of Croatia to implement new and more complex sanctions regimes from the European Union and United Nations.

The amendment to the ESG Act was published in the Hungarian Official Gazette of 17 April 2024 and entered into force in May 2024.

On June 12, 2024, the Bulgarian Council of Ministers released a draft bill for public discussion, aiming to revise the Bulgarian Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”) to align with the requirements of the General Product Safety Regulation 2023/988 (“GPSR”) and the Class Action Directive 2020/1828 (the “Class Action Directive”).

Nowadays, climate and environmental issues are increasingly important to many consumers. Being “eco” has become fashionable nowadays. Environmental issues are now recognized as an important market factor that allows a given company to improve its market position.