CEE Legal Matters
In-depth coverage of the news and newsmakers that shape Europe's emerging markets
With the war in Ukraine raging for more than six months, law firms across the region have reported increased workloads in corporate and M&A, tax, employment, immigration law, and inquiries on the sanctions regimes in relevant jurisdictions, noting that companies from Ukraine, Russia, and Belarus are variously looking for a new home. Whether to avoid sanctions or escape the war, those companies consider a variety of factors in determining where to go.
On 1 September 2022, Emergency Ordinance No. 119/2022 (“GEO 119/2022”) amending Emergency Ordinance No. 27/2022 on measures applicable to final customers in the electricity and natural gas market in the period between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, as well as for amending certain regulatory acts in the energy field (“GEO 27/2022”) was published in the Official Gazette of Romania no. 864 and entered into force on the same date. Below is a selection of the provisions set forth under GEO 119/2022.
Bondoc & Asociatii, working with White & Case, has advised the Stabilus Group on a long-term EUR 450 million credit facilities financing.
Against the background of energy transition and of the states’ need to ensure their energy security in the current geopolitical context, offshore renewable energy technologies have gained increased attention. Today, they have been included in renewable energy policies both in the European Union ("EU") and in the EU Member States, whether we are talking about wave energy, tidal energy, energy produced by floating photovoltaic panels, floating wind turbines and wind turbines attached to the seabed.
Grid connection in Romania is mainly regulated by ANRE Order no. 59/2013 approving the public grid connection regulation (the “Connection Regulation”), which has already been amended twice in 2022 (under ANRE Orders no. 17/2022 and 81/2022) and will soon be amended for a third time. Hence, the legal regime governing grid connection is quite a carousel of changes and reshapes.
More than two years after the expiry of the deadline for the transposition of Directive (EU) 2018/1972 establishing the European Electronic Communications Code ("Electronic Communications Code"), Romania has adopted for this purpose the Law no. 198/2022 amending certain regulatory acts in the electronic communications sector and for the establishment of measures meant to facilitate the development of electronic communications networks ("Transposition Law").
Against the background of a continuous transformation of the realities surrounding us, the European Union institutions have been noted to show an effervescence in their actions meant to cover the gap between reality and the legislative framework. This gap has grown with the evolution of digital technologies. Thus, the legislative framework has proven insufficient for an adequate protection, for example, of content published or shared in any way in the online environment.
The EU has committed itself under the European Green Deal to decarbonizing the European economy and becoming carbon neutral by 2050. To this end, an accelerated transition from fossil fuels as a primary energy source to renewable energy will be required. The integration of intermittent and variable renewable energy sources (e.g., wind and solar) into the power system requires greater flexibility in supply and demand in order to stabilize the power grid, prevent extreme price fluctuations and maintain security of supply and electricity price affordability. Short-term energy storage and multi-month seasonal storage is one of the ways to achieve the goal of such greater flexibility.
On 31 December 2021, Emergency Ordinance no. 143/2021 amending Electricity and Natural Gas Law no. 123/2012 and amending certain regulatory acts (“GEO 143/2021”) was published in the Official Gazette of Romania no. 1259 and entered into force. GEO 143/2021 is intended to transpose into national law Directive (EU) 2019/944 on common rules for the internal market for electricity and amending Directive 2012/27/EU (“Directive 944/2019”).
On 25 May 2022, Law no. 157/2022 („Law 157/2022”) amending Law no. 256/2018 on certain measures necessary for the implementation of oil operations by offshore oil perimeter owners (“Offshore Law”) was published in the Official Gazette of Romania no. 516 and entered into force on the same date.
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.
The past months have brought some important decisions from European data protection authorities (“DPA”) with respect to the use of cookies and the transfer of personal data outside the EEA, especially to the USA. This article aims to highlight the context and content of the decisions in question.
Bondoc si Asociatii has advised the Bucharest Municipality on the private placement and admission to trading of 55,500 bonds with a total issuance nominal value of RON 555 million. The issuance was intermediated by a syndicate of BRD Groupe Societe Generale and Raiffeisen Bank. Dentons advised the banks.
The first article of our own REMIT series is available here. It provides an overview of the REMIT core concepts, including the novelties brought under the latest edition of the ACER Guidance published on 22 July 2021 and the main conclusions of the 2021 REMIT Forum. This second article of our REMIT series presents (i) a more detailed analysis of REMIT in Romania, (ii) a practical perspective on the sanctioning regime applied by various NRAs, including the Romanian NRA, and (iii) the overall conclusions of our analysis.
The end of year 2021 marked the 10th anniversary of the enactment of EU Regulation No. 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency (hereafter “REMIT” or “the Regulation”). On this occasion, the 5th REMIT Forum was organized as a series of virtual events on 25, 26 and 28 October 2021 (“2021 REMIT Forum”). The introductory webinar to REMIT and the main plenary session were followed by special interest groups sessions on data, reporting and technology as well as on the 6th Edition of ACER Guidance on the application of REMIT (“ACER Guidance”). Conclusions of the 2021 REMIT Forum will be revealed in different contexts throughout our own series of articles aimed at marking the occasion.
Hydrogen seems to become the new trend in sustainable energy production and there is an effervescence of clean hydrogen production projects across the world. Thus, it is estimated that clean hydrogen could meet 24% of energy world demand by 2050 and there are 750 hydrogen projects in the pipeline of the European Green Hydrogen Alliance. With the European Green Deal aim of climate-neutrality by 2050, decarbonizing the energy sector, which accounts for 75% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is an essential step, hydrogen being regarded as a key component to deliver decarbonized energy.
Individuals who are insured under the applicable laws shall benefit from medical leave and allowance for taking care of a cancer patient over 18 years of age, if they accompany the patient to surgery interventions and to treatments prescribed by the specialist physician.
Significant changes to the legal framework governing the electricity sector were enacted at the end of 2021 under Government Emergency Ordinance no. 143/2021 (Ordinance 143) and ANRE Order no. 137/2021 (Order 137). Among these changes, two categories are of outmost importance for producers, as detailed below.
Bondoc și Asociații SCA is a leading Romanian law firm advising private corporations, public entities and lending institutions in the development of significant and increasingly integrated projects in a wide range of practice areas, including corporate and commercial law, M&A, banking & finance (including also structural funds and state aid), energy, capital markets, competition law, labor, real estate, IT&C, regulatory and compliance. Its lawyers are specialized in providing integrated advice on virtually every legal aspect associated with complex cross-border transactions, as well as domestic projects.
We have the experience and necessary resources to advise private corporations, public entities and financial institutions in their cross-border expansion, in the development of significant and increasingly integrated projects.
In terms of M&A transactional work, our team has been involved in many significant transactions covering a broad range of industries.
We are one of the few firms capable of assisting in a professional manner on virtually any type of M&A project in any industry in Romania and of any size, including with respect to highly regulated sectors or in connection with public authorities.
We have very strong departments in all support areas needed for such transactions, including without limitation competition, commercial law, real estate, labor law, banking &finance, energy, environment, and other regulatory.
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For further information about Bondoc si Asociatii Law Firm, please visit our website at bondoc-asociatii.ro.