In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and keep our readers apprised of the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas.

White & Case has successfully represented the Bulgarian Energy Holding and its Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz subsidiaries before the European Union's General Court in a case that saw the full annulment of a 2018 decision by the European Commission and related EUR 77 million fine imposed for foreclosing the Bulgarian gas supply market.

CMS has successfully represented Slovakian renewable energy investors Alpha Solar Group and Alpha Solar Invest in a case against the Bulgarian state regarding the recovery of cut feed-in tariffs for operational photovoltaic plants in Bulgaria.

Kinstellar has advised Total Specific Solutions on its entry into the Bulgarian market through the acquisition of AS Systems. Sabev & Partners advised the sellers.

Eversheds Sutherland Bulgarian member Tsvetkova Bebov & Partners, working alongside Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, has advised Villeroy & Boch on the acquisition of Bulgarian Ideal Standard- Vidima AD, part of the Ideal Standard Group. White & Case and Boyanov & Co reportedly advised the sellers.

We are a law firm that is dedicated to recovering assets for victims of financial crime when the assets or scammers are located in Bulgaria. Nowadays, a growing number of people become victims of a sophisticated ongoing criminal fraud scheme involving an unknown number of organised participants from different countries. The fraudsters aim to deceive the victims to transfer significant amounts of money to the fraudster’s bank accounts in Bulgaria. Then, the scammers usually move the received sum to a bank account in a country outside the European Union.  However, these transfers are in breach of Bulgarian and international anti-money laundering law.

BPV Braun Partners and Komarevski Dimitrov & Partners have advised Witte Automotive on its acquisition of a majority stake in Ruse-based Forez BG from FH Holding. PwC Legal advised FH Holding on the deal.

Former Goodwin Procter Partner Sava Savov has joined Kinstellar as a Partner to support the firm's international transactional offering and work with the executive team on various strategic initiatives.

On May 31, 2023, the Sofia City Court issued a landmark decision in the field of copyright protection, pursuant to which three internet providers were directed to disable the access of their users to peer-to-peer file-sharing platforms Zamunda and The Pirate Bay – to both the main torrent websites and any known proxies allowing access to these platforms.

CMS has advised Enka on its EUR 8.4 million acquisition of a 40-megawatt photovoltaic project through the acquisition of the Town Up 8 company. Savova & Co reportedly advised the sellers.

Djingov Gouginski Kyutchukov & Velichkov has advised Provitech Solutions on its new lease agreement for office premises located on the top floor of the Sofia Tower.

Under the current legislation, mediation as an alternative method of dispute resolution is voluntary. The amendments adopted in the State Gazette, No. 11 of 2023, which enter into force on 1 July 2024, introduced two categories of obligatory mediation in civil and commercial court proceedings:

CMS has advised Hellenic Petroleum Group subsidiary EKO Bulgaria in the EUR 51 million public procurement process organized by the Bulgarian Ministry of Finance for the delivery of fuel needed by the administration entities under its executive purview.

The European Court of Justice (CJEU) likely anticipated a wave of GDPR-related referrals. Few such matters receive as much attention from the public and lawyers as questions on GDPR damages.

This article aims to explore key aspects of Regulation (EU) 2022/720 (Regulation), which governs the block exemption of specific vertical agreements in the European Union market, with a focus on its implications within the Bulgarian market, particularly for its dynamic IT sector, which had a 26% growth in 2022 and reached 4.5% of the country’s GDP. Further to that, Bulgaria has seen even more foreign investments by VCs and big corporations alike, therefore such antitrust legislations are closely followed by the business ecosystem. Some of the world’s biggest automotive giants also have software and engineering development centers here, with new leading players expected to enter soon.

Djingov Gouginski Kyutchukov & Velichkov has successfully represented the Bulgarian Employers Association for Innovative Technologies before the country's Supreme Administrative Court in a dispute for its recognition as a nationally representative employers’ organization against the Bulgarian government.

Arsov Natchev Ganeva has successfully represented Sofia water and wastewater system operator Sofiyska Voda before Bulgaria's Supreme Administrative Court in a dispute with the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation on determining the rate of return for Sofiyska Voda in the 2022-2026 regulatory period.

Clifford Chance has advised KKCG Group's Technology pillar on the complete refinancing of its existing bank indebtedness and the further recapitalization of its members, including those in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Poland, and Serbia.