CEE Legal Matters
In-depth coverage of the news and newsmakers that shape Europe's emerging markets
Having a somewhat steady Government and Parliament since mid-2023 has led to more predictability in the Bulgarian regulatory environment for renewables. In October 2023, some important and significant changes to the RES Act entered into force, thus solidifying local support for renewable energy.
The Bulgarian Parliament adopted amendments to the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act (CNRA) in December 2023 to transpose the Digital Single Market Directive (EU) 2019/ 790 and the CabSat Directive (EU) 2019/789.
CMS Poland Managing Partner Andrzej Posniak and CMS Croatia Partner Tamara Jelic Kazic discuss the complexities and opportunities inherent to the region’s tax landscape.
Discussing how the energy markets are evolving – diversifying, moving away from dependence on Russian gas, and becoming ever-greener – CMS Partners Horea Popescu, Blazej Zagorski, Thomas Hamerl, and Maria Orlyk take a deep dive into the dynamic shifts in the energy landscape post-2022.
In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. As we bid farewell to 2023, this time around we turn our attention forward: What is your one main wish for 2024 and what do you see as the biggest potential risk?
On November 1, 2023, the amendment to the Slovenian Insolvency Act (ZFPPIPP-H) entered into force and introduced a series of significant changes that should not be overlooked.
As a result of the challenges that the local market has been facing over the past years brought on by the recent pandemic, wars, and other changes in the market, the majority of businesses are faced with losses and accumulating high levels of debt. Consequently, enormous pressure is imposed on businesses, including on their viability, which, in turn, pushes the need to explore methods for overcoming these obstacles.
Schoenherr, working with Legance and Cuatrecasas, has advised Hartree Partners on its acquisition of a 50% stake in the Botres Group. CMS reportedly advised the sellers.
CMS has advised the Linamar Corporation on its acquisition of Dura-Shiloh’s battery enclosures factory in North Macedonia. The acquisition also included factories in the Czech Republic and the US, with a total transaction value of USD 325 million.
Did you know that the early 2024 deal leaderboards are already available via the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website?
Former Deloitte Legal Partners Ryszard Manteuffel and Robert Semczuk have joined the CMS Corporate/M&A practice in Poland as a Partner and a Counsel, respectively.
Bulgaria is nearing the home stretch of its Eurozone integration and OECD accession plans, according to CMS Partner Elitsa Ivanova, with renewables, ESG, fintech, and digitalization the hot topics for lawyers and bankers alike.
CMS has advised Istanbul-based engineering and construction company Enka on the licensing of its 40-megawatt Town Up 8 photovoltaic project before the Bulgarian Energy and Water Regulatory Commission.
CMS has advised a SINO-CEEF group company on the acquisition of 25 operational photovoltaic power plants in Poland from the Alternus Energy Group. Soltysinski Kawecki & Szlezak reportedly advised the seller.
CMS has advised the OTP Group on the binding agreement to sell its stake in OTP Bank Romania and all subsidiaries to Banca Transilvania for a combined purchase price is EUR 347.5 million. Filip & Company advised Banca Transilvania on the acquisition.
CMS has successfully represented the interests of Free Energy Project Oreshets – formerly owned by CEZ and currently a part of the Eurohold Group – in a dispute against the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance.
Linklaters has advised the EBRD on its EUR 75 million investment in Poland's R.Power alongside the Three Seas Initiative Investment Fund. Slaughter and May and CMS's Luxembourg office reportedly advised 3SIIF.
Did you know that, using the Activity Rankings function of the CEELMDirect website, you can look up the 2023 deal leaderboards in each CEE market, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Slovenia?
CMS Sofia is a full-service law firm, the largest international law firm in Bulgaria and one of the largest providers of legal services in the local market as a whole. The breadth and depth of our practice means that our lawyers are specialised, with a level of specialisation that few of our competitors can match.
CMS Sofia is the Bulgarian branch of CMS, a top ten global legal and tax services provider with over 5000 lawyers in 43 countries and 78 offices across the world.
CMS entered the Bulgarian market as one of the first internationally active law firms in 2005 and is now among the most respected legal advisors in the country. We have 7 partners, 4 counsel and over 30 lawyers in our office in Sofia.
Our legal experts, who are rooted in Bulgaria’s local culture, can also draw on years of experience in foreign countries and are at home in several legal systems at once. We know the particularities of the local market just as well as the needs of our clients and combine both to achieve optimum solutions. Our lawyers are Bulgarian qualified and we also have English qualified experts – all of them regularly working on cross-border mandates.
In our work, we focus on M&A, Energy, Projects and Construction, Banking and Finance, Real Estate, Media, IP and IT law, Tax, Employment law, Competition, Procurement and any kind of Dispute resolution, including arbitration and mediation. What’s more, we also take care of the entire legal management of our clients’ projects.