It is a common labour law problem in Hungary that in case the employee, due to medical reasons, becomes permanently unfit for the job he previously fulfilled, the employer does not amend or terminate the employment (the latter of which would entail an obligation to pay severance pay), but keeps the employee on “idle time” without giving him tasks and salary. In our article, we examine this issue in light of the recent decision of the Hungarian Supreme Court.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the agency responsible for regulating the securities markets and protecting investors in the U.S.A, granted approval to 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF), in its Approval Order on 10 January 2024.

There has been much discussion about protracted shortages of critical medicines in the Czech Republic over the last couple of months. Many national measures have been adopted. At the European Union level,the Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism for medicines has been put in place.

In Hungary, a legal entity can separate into multiple legal entities through division or spin-off. In the case of a spin-off, the original legal entity continues to exist, and a portion of its assets is transferred to the newly formed legal entity as its successor.

Employment contracts can only be terminated on specific grounds listed in the Bulgarian Labor Code. There are over 50 grounds for termination, each with its unique facts, documents, and procedures.

On 28 December 2023, the Agency for the Protection of Competition of Montenegro (the “Agency”) adopted a decision regarding its finding that the pricelist adopted by the Association of Tourist Agencies of Montenegro (the “Association”) concerning services provided by the tourist agencies amounts to a restrictive agreement by object under the Montenegrin Competition Law.

Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 December 2022 on digital operational resilience for the financial sector and amending Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009, (EU) No 648/2012, (EU) No 600/2014, (EU) No 909/2014 and (EU) 2016/1011 (“DORA”) contains a number of requirements for ICT service providers, which will become binding on January 17, 2025. Therefore, 2024 will be a year of intensive work on the part of service providers to ensure compliance with the new, demanding regulation.

Since the beginning of the year, the Government has modified the previous legal environment concerning the development of wind power plants in several areas to increase wind power capacity. According to the Ministry of Energy's communication so far, wind power capacity is expected to increase to around 1,000 MW by 2030.

Insufficiently precise provisions of the law, unharmonized court practice, as well as the average duration of the employment disputes, were affected creating the “fear of litigation” amongst many employers. Due to the stated reasons, instead of unilateral employment termination, even in cases when there is firm evidence confirming its lawfulness and validity, the employers tend to execute the mutual agreement on employment termination, as well as to pay certain one-time compensation on the said basis.

The Regulation on Determination of Risk Groups and Credit Limitations ("Risk Groups Regulation") and the Regulation on Credit Operations of Banks ("Credit Operations Regulation") prepared by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency ("BRSA") were published in the Official Gazette dated 21.12.2023. Accordingly, the provisions regarding the determination of risk groups and calculation of credit limits in the Regulation on Credit Operations of Banks dated 1.11.2006 ("Former Regulation") were adapted to the Risk Groups Regulation and detailed regulations on the determination of risk groups were introduced. With the Regulation on Credit Transactions, the Former Regulation dated 1.11.2006 was repealed, and other provisions of the Former Regulation were reviewed and reorganised.

Under the GDPR, data subjects may claim compensation if they suffered damages because the controller infringed his obligations under the GDPR. Does a data theft by cybercriminals mean that the controller has not adopted appropriate data security measures meaning that he failed to comply with his data protection obligations? Can the data subject claim compensation if his only damage is the fear that his personal data was misused? The Court of Justice of the European Union answered these questions in a fresh decision which will be analysed in this short article.

Although gender identity does not constitute sensitive data under the GDPR, its legal protection is nevertheless very robustly designed. Companies that choose to disregard it may face claims for damages and fines.

In December 2023, the Hungarian Government significantly eased the regulatory conditions for the establishment of wind turbine projects in Hungary in order to comply with EU requirements and enhance the utilization of green energy.

The Czech Competition Authority (CCA) recently announced that it prepared a proposal to update the Czech Competition Act (the "Act"). While at present the proposal is just a set of ideas, it indicates how Czech competition enforcement may evolve in the years to come. Crucially, the CCA suggests deploying a "new competition tool" that will allow it to intervene even without proof of anticompetitive agreements or abuse of dominance. In addition, it wants to have call-in powers for under-threshold mergers.

A new Regulation on Active Cooperation for Detecting Cartels (“Regulation”) in Turkey entered into force on 16 December 2023. The Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) also held a helpful webinar on the topic, highlighting the differences between the old and new regulation. In this article, we highlight two changes that we consider to be the most important: (i) applicants are now required to submit documents that contribute added value; and (ii) applications from cartel facilitators are now explicitly welcomed. Lastly, we present an overview of the conditions for full immunity and for reductions in administrative monetary fines.

This year several employment law rules of practical relevance will change in Hungary. These changes will have different entry into force dates, and are all briefly summarised below.

We are witnessing an important advancement in the field of employment administration in Hungary. Starting from 1 January 2024, the Act on the Promotion of Employment and Unemployment Benefits was amended, introducing the obligation for employers to issue an employment certificate following the termination of employment.

Albania is currently contemplating the revision of its existing legislation on industrial property currently regulated by one single law i.e., Law no. 9947, dated 7.7.2008 “On Industrial Property”, as amended. The existing law governs all domains of industrial property and business secrets, including patents of invention, utility models, trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications.