In the context of signing the Association Agreement with the European Union on June 27, 2014, the Moldovan legislation underwent fundamental changes aimed at harmonizing the domestic provisions with those of the European Union.

With numerous reports of energy-related business shutdowns, we reached out to local experts across CEE to understand what different markets have been dealing with, in terms of work and production stoppages, and look into the broader impact.

Contributed by ACI Partners.

The country's EU candidate status and grave security concerns gave rise to far-reaching legislative reform in Moldova, with IPOs and digitalization in full swing, according to ACI Partners Partner Cristina Martin.

The Moldovan Government continues to promote in-depth reforms designed to meet the challenges of a digital economy. The last summer was marked by the adoption of new regulations aiming to stimulate private-sector innovation. The new legislation also instituted new responsibilities for digital platforms for creating, sharing, and streaming digital content to Moldovan users.

The sixth package of European Union sanctions imposed on Russia is a widely discussed topic, yet the overall levels of preparedness to adopt the associated energy import ban varies from one country to another. Indeed, with Russian oil and gas exports being such a dominant source of energy for a number of European countries, it remains to be seen how all of them adapt to the change. To gain insight into how certain EU member states and non-EU countries are (likely) to fare in the immediate wake of the ban, we reached out to legal professionals from Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Moldova.

Energy prices have been a salient issue in CEE for the past year. Part 1 of this article covered just how high the energy prices had climbed in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, and Turkey, the impact of those prices on people, businesses, and governments, as well as the reasons why some countries fared better than others. Then Russia’s war against Ukraine changed everything, making a new energy pricing normal seem more distant than ever. In Part 2 we look at what energy experts believe could alleviate the situation and whether the war has impacted those plans.

In the past twelve months, energy prices seem to have taken a life of their own. Their continued and, at times, shocking growth has raised concerns across the region and prompted differing responses and policy changes in each country. To get a more accurate picture of recent developments, we reached out to experts in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, and Turkey and asked them about the current energy prices, their impact on local economies, the drivers behind their growth, and whether any plans were in place to address the issue.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest challenges for Moldovan SMEs proved to be access to financing solutions. A financial gap spread nationally across different sectors and industries.  Moldovan banking institutions became reluctant to finance SMEs and sole entrepreneurs, while the existing solutions often proved to be expensive and inaccessible.

Contributed by ACI Partners.

The year 2021 is expected to be a long-awaited turning point for the Moldovan electric energy market.

CMS has advised Alpla on forming a EUR 7.5 million joint venture together with Romania's Ecohelp and Switzerland's United Polymer Trading. Reportedly, Cabinet Costea advised Ecohelp and Furer Partner Advocaten advised UPT.

White & Case has advised Polish chemicals producer Synthos on its EUR 600 million 2.5% seven-year bond issuance. Clifford Chance advised global coordinators BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs Bank Europe and joint bookrunners Bank Pekao, Banco Santander, ING, and PKO BP.

Contributed by ACI Partners.