Contributed by Law Office Lazarov.
Real Estate Laws and Regulations in Greece (2025)
Contributed by AKL.
Real Estate Laws and Regulations in Albania (2025)
Contributed by Kalo & Associates.
Changes in Hungary’s Regulation of Solar Power Plants
A new proposal could eliminate the requirement for remote control regulation in solar power plants with a capacity of less than 5 megawatts (MW).
GDPR Fines and Data Breach Trends in the CEE Region
The latest DLA Piper GDPR Fines and Data Breach Survey provides a comprehensive overview of data protection enforcement trends across Europe, including the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. CEE countries are in the mid-range in terms of total GDPR fines imposed since the regulation became applicable in 2018 and for last year, but enforcement activity is steadily increasing. Here are the latest trends and legal developments in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
"'Stewardess' Out of the Game," or the First Successful Follow-On Claimant's Damages Action in the Czech Republic
When discussing competition law, the Competition Authority and its powers are usually part of the business conversation, given that it is the key enforcer ensuring fair competition and penalizing those who try to distort it. However, for many undertakings, a decision by the Competition Authority isn’t always the end of their fight for justice – sometimes it’s just the beginning. Affected competitors often have to undertake significant efforts to seek compensation from those whose anti-competitive behaviour has harmed or even destroyed their business. In this article, we share our experience with the first-ever successful follow-on damages action in the Czech Republic and the challenges we encountered along the way.
New Regulation of Cloud and Data Center Services in Ukraine
On 11 February 2025, the Ukrainian Government adopted a resolution regulating various aspects of cloud and data center services (the "Services") provision and use. In particular, the resolution introduces:
The Dual Obligation of EPR and Environmental Product Charge Has Been Abolished, EPR Penalty Rates Have Been Introduced
Following the year-end legislative news, several changes affecting so-called "green taxes" came into force at the beginning of 2025. The most significant of these is the effective abolition of the dual obligations of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and the Environmental Product Charges (EPC), except for plastic carrier bags, and the introduction of the EPR penalty rates that have been expected since the introduction of the EPR. At the same time, there are also many changes to the EPR rules.
The Court vs. "Mr." and "Mrs."
By judgment from 9 January 2025 in Case C‑394/23 the Court of Justice (CJEU) rules that the processing of personal data relating to the title of the customers of a transport undertaking is not necessary and might even be not legally grounded.
Austria: Federal Fiscal Court Rules That Voluntary Self-Disclosure of Missed UBO filings does not require immediate UBO Filing To Qualify for Exemption from Late Filing Penalties
The Austrian Beneficial Owners Register Act (BORA) requires certain legal entities to report their ultimate beneficial owners (UBO) recurringly, at least once a year and whenever changes occur in an entity's UBO.
Certain Personal Income Tax Benefits Are No Longer Available to Third-Country Nationals
From 1 January 2025, third-country nationals will no longer be entitled to claim certain personal income tax (PIT) benefits. Third countries are non-EEA countries and countries that have not concluded a bilateral social security agreement with Hungary.
Simplification of Sustainability Due Diligence Requirements – ESG Law Amended Again
A new amendment to the ESG Act has entered into force, which, in addition to changes to the personal and material scope of the Act, contains provisions primarily aimed at easing the burden on businesses and the application of the Act. According to the proposal of the Act, the amendments are necessary in light of the experience gained in the practical application of the ESG Act since its entry into force. The changes entered into force on 19 January, except for the amendment on fines. The main amendments are summarised below, without being exhaustive.
Montenegro Advances EU Legal Harmonization with Draft Competition Laws
The Montenegrin Agency for the Protection of Competition ("Agency") has released draft version of the Law on Procedures for Compensation of Damages Resulting from Competition Violations ("Damage Law") and draft of the amendments and supplements to the Law on the Protection of Competition ("Competition Law"), whose aim is to align Montenegrin legislation with legislation of the European Union as part of Chapter 8 in the negotiations for Montenegro's accession to the European Union.
Employment and HR: Top Priorities for In-House Teams
There are not many legal sectors that experience the ground-breaking changes which employment law faces every year on the Romanian market. In the past 3 years, our legislator’s appetite to regulate and overregulate matters like avoiding harassment at work, amending long established legal templates, or the new law on social dialogue have strongly shaken the peaceful climate of employment relationships.
Global Minimum Tax: Uncertainty and U.S. Withdrawal
The global minimum tax initiative aims to ensure that large multinational corporations operating across multiple jurisdictions pay a corporate tax rate of at least 15%.
Romania One Step Closer to Secondary FDI Legislation
In an eagerly awaited development, Romania has taken a step forward in fostering more clarity on essential concepts relevant for foreign direct investment (FDI) screening, by publishing draft guidelines (the "Guidelines"), anticipated to enter into force in March 2025. While the Guidelines may not bring major surprises for practitioners who have been working in the FDI trenches since the regime came into force in April 2022, the formal codification of the authority's practice is a welcome step toward greater transparency and predictability.