With the hiring of third-country nationals becoming ever more prevalent on the Hungarian job market in recent years, the number of problematic employment cases is on the rise.

Bulgaria is among a minority of EU countries that have not yet adopted a foreign direct investment (FDI) screening regime. This is about to change with the introduction in late June of a bill on the amendment of the Investment Promotion Act, implementing the screening mechanism under Regulation (EU) 2019/452.

The Serbian National Assembly adopted amendments to two key laws regulating the immigration status of foreigners in the Republic of Serbia – the Law on Foreigners and the Law on Employment of Foreigners.

On 19 July 2023, the Constitutional Court established that certain provisions of the act on public construction investments are unconstitutional, therefore it cannot enter into force as planned on 1 August 2023.

In business life parties often use promissory notes to secure transactions since these instruments allow creditors to get back their money rapidly and easily. What special regime applies to promissory note litigations in Hungary? This article summarises the Hungarian promissory note litigation regime.

Since the release of the Barbie movie, there’s been an unmistakable global buzz.  Beyond film, it has driven sales across a spectrum of Barbie merchandise, from costumes and makeup to beverages and even a rentable Barbie dreamhouse.  The success of the Barbie movie, dolls, and brand hinges on Mattel’s very prudent approach to protecting their intellectual property rights.

Since the beginning of this year, the Personal Data Protection Office has issued fines of almost CZK 4,500,000 for breaches of the GDPR in connection with the processing of personal data via cookies.

In May 2023 the Government of the Republic of Serbia submitted the official Proposal of the Law on Amendments of the Law on Citizenship of the Republic of Serbia (the Proposal), which is currently in the process of deliberation within the National Assembly.

The EU Directives on Work-life balance and on Transparent and predictable working conditions were introduced into the Polish national legislation on 26 April 2023 and brought about significant changes and obligations for the employers. What do they mean for businesses?

The National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted several proposed laws related to construction during its session on 26 July 2023.

The 2024 tax package bill accepted by the Hungarian Parliament on 4 July 2023, brings changes in various areas.

On 11 July 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published a public statement (“ESMA Statement”) regarding sustainability-related disclosure requirements in prospectuses for both equity and non-equity securities.

The new amendments to the law on foreigners and the law on the employment of foreigners, which will apply from 1 February 2024 ("Amendments"), significantly simplify and shorten the procedure for employment of foreign citizens in the Republic of Serbia and contribute to increased efficiency of the procedure, which will allow foreigners to be employed in the Republic of Serbia in a very short period of time.

Although the deadline for transposing Directive (EU) 2019/1937 on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law (the Whistleblowing Directive) into national law passed on 17 December 2021, the Czech Republic has been among those Member States struggling to adopt a corresponding act into local legislation. Nonetheless, after turbulent discussions and legislative proposals, the bill has finally been passed and came into force on 1 August 2023.

The new Law on Electronic Communications, published on April 29, 2023, in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia no. 35/23, went into force on May 7, 2023. With the entry into force of the new law, the previous Law on Electronic Communications ceases to be valid (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, nos. 44/2010, 60/2013, 62/2014 and 95/2018) except for certain provisions related to the secrecy of electronic communications, legal interception, and retention of data, as well as other specific provisions that will be valid until the adoption of by-laws prescribed by the new Law on Electronic Communications.

On 9 August 2023, the Ukrainian Parliament passed an extensive set of amendments to the competition law. These currently await signature by the President and are expected to come into force on 1 January 2024, save for certain provisions that will become effective after martial law is lifted.

As we previously reported, the pivotal Energy Community Ministerial Meeting held in Tepelenë, Albania, in June signaled potential developments in green energy and decarbonisation in the Western Balkans (WB).

In the world of finance, the rise of environmental, social and governance considerations has compelled bankers, investment professionals and banking and finance lawyers to reevaluate their mindset.