In follow-up to our summary regarding the preliminary evaluation for the banks’ authorisation, as detailed in Regulation no. 12/2020 on the authorization of credit institutions and amendments pertaining to the same (“Regulation 12/2020”), and our summary regarding the information and documentation to be submitted by a bank in order to obtain authorisation from the National Bank of Romania (the “NBR”), we will highlight below the main amendments regarding banks that need to be approved by and registered by the NBR once the bank is authorised.

The Ukrainian Government continues to develop and adopt the gaming laws which are necessary to relaunch the Ukrainian gaming market.

The President of the Czech Republic signed the Act on Foreign Investment (“FDI Act”), which will take effect as of May 1, 2021. The Act follows the EU legislative framework on the examination of selected foreign investments for security reasons given by the Regulation No. (EU) 2019/452. The FDI Act introduces the obligation for foreign investors from countries outside the EU, investing in strategic sectors of the Czech economy, to obtain prior clearance from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (the "Ministry").

What changes must employers expect with respect to employee alimentation, working from home, employee intragroup assignment, or employing teenagers before their completion of compulsory education? The latest amendment of the Slovak Labour Code introduces several changes, establishes a new ground for dismissal, and also significantly modifies the regulation of collective labour relations.

The Law on Archive Materials and Archiving Activities (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 6/2020, ) (“Law”) started to apply as of 2 February 2021, so after many years Serbia finally regulates the protection of archival material in one place and a comprehensive manner.

The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic recently issued a judgment under file no. 21 Cdo 4779/2018, in which it dealt with a situation where the employer withdrew from the non-compete clause agreed with its employee due to the fact that "it would not be proportionate or practical to enforce the agreed prohibition of competition against the employee due to the value of information and knowledge of work and technological procedures obtained by the employee in the course of employment with the employer". The said ground for withdrawal from the non-compete clause had been expressly agreed between the employer and the employee.

The book European Court Procedure – A Practical Guide (Bloomsbury-Hart, Oxford, 730 p.) has been written by professionals having a combined experience of 70 years as referendaires at the EU Courts or members of the European Commission Legal Service. It gives a detailed and practice-oriented overview of the whole spectrum of litigation procedure before the EU judiciary. It also presents the entire system of judicial avenues that enable litigants to enforce their rights under EU law against European institutions, Member States or private parties.

On the wave of the pandemic of the Covid-19 virus and electronic business, it turned out that 2020 was the key year for the issue of digitalization of assets and financial resources. Until then, the unregulated and mostly uneven actions of financial actors imposed as an imperative further digitalization and the necessity of monitoring and harmonizing global contemporary tendencies related to digital assets.

At the beginning of 2021, the Government of Ukraine published its decision No. 1581-p, dated 16 December 2020, on approval of the list of 102 investment projects prioritised by the State for 2021 – 2023 in such fields as culture and tourism, industry and manufacturing, energy, healthcare, transport, and sports. 76 out of 102 projects may be financed by investors, 47 of which – using a public-private partnership, including the concession framework.

Cybersecurity is at the forefront of the European Union (“EU”)’s efforts to build a resilient, green and digital Europe. In this respect, on December 16, 2020, the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy presented the European Union’s new Cybersecurity Strategy for the Digital Decade (the “EU Cybersecurity Strategy”).

In December 2020, the French Data Protection Authority (Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés or the “CNIL”) imposed significant fines of EUR 60 million for Google LLC and EUR 40 million for Google Ireland Limited, as well as of EUR 35 million for Amazon Europe Core.

A number of fundamental changes were made in the Law No. 5651 on "Regulating Broadcasts Made on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed Through These Broadcasts (Legislation)", came into force on 22/05/2007, with the Law No. 7352 on "Regulating Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed Through These Publications" (Amendment), which was published in the Official Gazette on July 31, 2020, which is called the Social Media Law in the press.

In follow-up to our summary regarding the preliminary evaluation for the banks’ authorisation, as detailed in Regulation no. 12/2020 on the authorization of credit institutions and amendments pertaining to the same (“Regulation 12/2020”), we will shortly review below the information and documentation to be submitted by a bank in order to obtain authorisation from the National Bank of Romania (the “NBR”).

Let us remind you of the two changes in income tax with an international element, which already have or are soon expected to come into effect (or to the end of the applicable time limit).

The supervisory activity of the National Media and Infocommuncations Authority (“NMIA”) and the operation of communication service providers will be highly affected by the implemented provisions of the European Electronic Communications Code that prescribes the applicable new European framework of electronic communications.

According to a press release of the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) issued on 16 December 2020, GVH is launching a market analysis to investigate how customer datasets of e-commerce companies are created and also the role of such assets in the competition between online stores. The investigation will further cover the extent of the customers’ awareness of such data collection and its influence on their decisions.

Energy consumers in Bulgaria have been facing two major challenges lately. Within the last several years power prices on the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX) are showing uncanny volatility. At times they reached remarkable peaks, not only for the Balkans, but for the EU as well. Then, the security of supply has been in doubt, due to sometimes poor power connection.

The Law on Amendments to the Law on Foreigners (Official Gazette of the RS No. 31/2019) (“Law”) entered into force on May 7, 2019, but the provisions relating to the submission of a joint application for temporary residence and work permit started to apply on December 1, 2020.