Vasil Kisil & Partners has successfully represented Rost Agro in a UAH 33 million tax dispute before the Court of Appeal.

Kinstellar has advised the majority shareholders of Agrotex on the sale of a significant stake to Promat Comimpex. PNSA reportedly advised Promat Comimpex.

A recent legislative amendment to Law no. 17/2014, concerning certain measures regulating the sale of extra muros agricultural land, which also amends Law no. 268/2001 on the privatisation of companies managing public and private state-owned agricultural land and the establishment of the State Domains Agency (“Law 17”), has been proposed in the Romanian Senate. This amendment aims to introduce a new category of pre-emptors: owners of land adjoining extra muros arable land, regardless of the location within or outside city limits and regardless of the land use category.

CMS has advised Dutch Good Growth Fund on obtaining the necessary regulatory approval for its acquisition of a significant shareholding in the joint-stock company Joint Stock Bank Lviv. CMS has also advised Bank Lviv on certain transactional documents in the acquisition.

Zepos & Yannopoulos has advised UCI Greece Credit and Loans Receivables Servicing Company on the renewal of the company’s operating license by the Bank of Greece.

CMS has advised OMV Offshore Bulgaria on the permit transfer procedure with the Bulgarian Government and the issuance of a force majeure certificate by the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the Han Asparuh 1-21 offshore block.

ZSP Advokati has promoted Jasna Milosavljevic, Jelisaveta Stanisic, and Nikola Sugaris to Partners.

Taylor Wessing has advised Recorde Asset Management and Forestay Group on the acquisition of a building in Budapest’s Gellert Hill area set to become the Moricz Student Living student residence and office building. Taylor Wessing, working with Kalman & Partners, also advised Recorde and Forstay on the acquisition financing obtained from Hypo Bank Noe.

MMD Advokati has advised APS Quattro Holding on the sale of Vantage Leasing to Alta Banka. Stanivuk & Manasijevski advised Alta Banka.

TGS Baltic has advised Civinity on a private placement of an issue of bonds with a nominal value of EUR 5.7 million.

White & Case has advised Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego on its issuance of two bond series on the dollar market with a total value of USD 3.5 billion. Linklaters advised the joint lead managers.

Almost two years ago, I discussed in an article published in CEE Legal Matters the presence of “green” bonds and financings in Croatia. The thesis put forward in that article was focused on the necessity of companies and financial service providers to be more “green” in terms of the products they offer on the Croatian (capital) markets and goals on sustainability which should be accomplished.

On 26 June 2024, the Romanian Competition Council (the "RCC") announced that it had conducted a dawn raid as part of an investigation concerning the possible abuse of a superior bargaining position by a company active in the supply of liquid medicinal oxygen against a public hospital. The investigation has been launched ex officio as a result of information received from public sources. The case is noteworthy as it marks the first time the RCC has launched a review regarding an alleged abuse of superior bargaining position, a relatively new type of infringement under Romanian competition rules.

Gessel has advised Grupa Kety on obtaining competition clearance for its takeover of Selt.

On 14 June 2024, the Serbian Competition Commission (the “Commission”) initiated two proceedings against companies belonging to the Agromarket Group for allegedly implementing notifiable concentrations without obtaining prior approval from the Commission. The acquisitions occurred in 2020 and 2024 and both concern targets located outside of Serbia.

On June 24, 2024, the Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers (the "Whistleblowers Act") was published in the Journal of Laws, which means that most of its provisions will come into force on September 25, 2024.

Poland has finally implemented the EU Whistleblowing Directive. The new law will enter into force on 25 September 2024, leaving little time to adapt to the new regulations. We highlight the key privacy implications of implementing the whistleblowing procedures in Poland and outline the actions organisations need to take in the upcoming weeks.

In a recent judgment, the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) held that the claim "climate neutral" is ambiguous and often misleading unless the advertisement itself explains its specific meaning. This sets a trend for Austria, where courts have traditionally followed the standards set by the BGH in relation to environmental advertising when assessing such claims under unfair competition law. On an EU level, the restrictions regarding claims about greenhouse gas emissions are becoming even stricter, leaving advertisers with much to consider before making claims such as "climate neutral".

ZSP Advokati has promoted Jasna Milosavljevic, Jelisaveta Stanisic, and Nikola Sugaris to Partners.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised Assa Abloy on the acquisition of Skidata from the Kudelski Group. Baker McKenzie, working with Hogan Lovells, Holding Redlich, and Lenz & Staehelin, advised the Kudelski Group.

Papapolitis & Papapolitis, working with Reed Smith, has advised ECM Partners and Metric Capital Partners on the sale of Famar to MidEuropa. DLA Piper reportedly advised MidΕuropa.

Moravcevic, Vojnovic and Partners in cooperation with Schoenherr has advised Fortis Renewable Energy on the acquisition of a 180-megawatt solar power plant in Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia.

Wardynski & Partners has advised Prime PV on the sale of a 10-megawatt solar farm in West Pomerania to Orlen.

CMS has advised mBank on financing to Green On Energy for the Profbud wind farm.

On April 22, 2024, Everlegal announced it had been appointed to provide legal support to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – the UN Refugee Agency – for its activities in Ukraine.

Noor and the Lithuanian Red Cross Society have executed a memorandum of cooperation based upon which Noor will provide continuous legal advisory and assistance to the Red Cross on various legal matters.

Everlegal has partnered up with the Norwegian Refugee Council in Ukraine and will be offering the NRC legal support on a number of day-to-day legal issues.

Your Legal Partners’ Katerina Politopoulou, Maria Golfinopoulou, and Prokopis Linardos Talk About the Deal of the Year in Greece.

E+H has promoted Arndt Blaschka to Partner.

DZP has promoted Beata Cieszynska, Anna Okla-Wozniak, Jaroslaw Przybylski, Krzysztof Stecyk, and Maciej Zajda to Partner.

Koutalidis has advised Alpha Bank Group on the reorganization of Alpha Leasing’s business via a common demerger.

Bernitsas has advised BMW Hellas Trade of Cars SA on the successful spin-off of its vehicles leasing sector.

Wolf Theiss, working with Wiersholm, has advised the Schibsted group on the separation of its business into two companies – Schibsted Media and Schibsted Marketplaces.

On June 24, 2024, the Act on the Protection of Whistleblowers (the "Whistleblowers Act") was published in the Journal of Laws, which means that most of its provisions will come into force on September 25, 2024.

Poland has finally implemented the EU Whistleblowing Directive. The new law will enter into force on 25 September 2024, leaving little time to adapt to the new regulations. We highlight the key privacy implications of implementing the whistleblowing procedures in Poland and outline the actions organisations need to take in the upcoming weeks.

In a recent judicial case, the courts examined the legality of a termination notice delivered via postal service, where the core issue revolves around whether the employer fulfilled the legal requirement of notifying the employee of the termination of employment according to the Hungarian Labor Code.

ZSP Advokati has promoted Jasna Milosavljevic, Jelisaveta Stanisic, and Nikola Sugaris to Partners.

Taylor Wessing has advised Recorde Asset Management and Forestay Group on the acquisition of a building in Budapest’s Gellert Hill area set to become the Moricz Student Living student residence and office building. Taylor Wessing, working with Kalman & Partners, also advised Recorde and Forstay on the acquisition financing obtained from Hypo Bank Noe.

From 29 July 2024, the administrative service fees relating to procedures for land registry, plot formation, land surveying and mapping, and the provision of data from the land register and the state databases will be increased significantly.

In its latest decision of May 16, 2024 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) reflected on the Hungarian foreign VAT refund regime. ECJ established once again that non-compliance with formal requirements should not prevent reimbursement of VAT provided that substantive requirements can and have been satisfied.

Vasil Kisil & Partners has successfully represented Rost Agro in a UAH 33 million tax dispute before the Court of Appeal.

The Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) ordered the National Revenue Agency (NRA) to repay default interest charged on precisely defined and fully paid advance corporate income tax instalments that were not declared.

BDK Advokati has advised Seyfor on the acquisition of 70% equity in the Serbian IT company M&I Systems. Stanivukovic reportedly advised the sellers.

Serbia’s 2020 Trademark Law introduced a novel provision to local law: the trademark holders have been explicitly empowered to claim profit surrender in cases where the infringement was not intentional or grossly negligent.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised Seyfor on the acquisition of Datacruit from GoodGroup. Briza & Trubac advised GoodGroup.

Romania-based Mares & Mares and Cyprus-based Emilianides Katsaros have formed a partnership spanning Cyprus, Romania, and Greece.

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) is an independent body of the European Union (EU) tasked with investigating criminal cases infringing the financial interests of the EU. The EPPO was formally established in 2017 and started operations in 2021. The first and current head of the European Chief Prosecutor is Laura Codruta Kovesi, former Chief Prosecutor of the National Anticorruption Directorate (Directia Nationala Anticoruptie; DNA), the Romanian agency tasked with investigating corruption cases.

Former Managing Associates Jesse Kivisaari and Lembit Tedder have been promoted to Partner at Cobalt Estonia.

Papapolitis & Papapolitis, working with Reed Smith, has advised ECM Partners and Metric Capital Partners on the sale of Famar to MidEuropa. DLA Piper reportedly advised MidΕuropa.

Gessel has advised Pure Biologics and its shareholder Filip Jelen on an investment from Michal Lach. DZP advised Michal Lach.

Turunc has advised Pollet Medical Group on obtaining the approval of the Turkish Competition Board for the majority acquisition of Farmasol.

Former Kochanski & Partners Partners Marek Jezewski has joined Eversheds Sutherland's Polish office to launch a new Arbitration & Complex Commercial Disputes Practice.

Serbia’s 2020 Trademark Law introduced a novel provision to local law: the trademark holders have been explicitly empowered to claim profit surrender in cases where the infringement was not intentional or grossly negligent.

In its latest decision of May 16, 2024 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) reflected on the Hungarian foreign VAT refund regime. ECJ established once again that non-compliance with formal requirements should not prevent reimbursement of VAT provided that substantive requirements can and have been satisfied.

Your Legal Partners’ Katerina Politopoulou, Maria Golfinopoulou, and Prokopis Linardos Talk About the Deal of the Year in Greece.

CMS has advised Austria-based Rail Cargo Group on creating a joint venture with Serbia-based Transfera.

Popovici, Nitu, Stoica & Asociatii has advised Malherbe Transports on its acquisition of Contralog Europa.

Your Legal Partners’ Katerina Politopoulou, Maria Golfinopoulou, and Prokopis Linardos Talk About the Deal of the Year in Greece.

Avellum has advised the Kernel Group on the acquisition of 100% of shares in Reni-Oil LLC – a sunflower oil transshipment terminal with a storage capacity of 15,000 tons, in the port of Reni, on the Danube – for a consideration of USD 24.75 million.

Fortsakis Diakopoulos & Associates has advised the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund on the sale of a 67% stake in the Heraklion Port Authority to a consortium consisting of Grimaldi Euromed and Minoan Lines.

Papapolitis & Papapolitis, working with Reed Smith, has advised ECM Partners and Metric Capital Partners on the sale of Famar to MidEuropa. DLA Piper reportedly advised MidΕuropa.

BDK Advokati has advised Seyfor on the acquisition of 70% equity in the Serbian IT company M&I Systems. Stanivukovic reportedly advised the sellers.

Kocian Solc Balastik has advised Seyfor on the acquisition of Datacruit from GoodGroup. Briza & Trubac advised GoodGroup.

Wardynski & Partners has represented the Civil Society Drug Policy Initiative on a pro bono basis in a dispute with Meta.

Integrites has provided pro bono defense representation to a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine concerning criminal charges brought against him by the military command. The firm also advised the soldier's family on obtaining monetary compensation.

Schoenherr has signed new legal services and partnership agreements to continue providing pro bono legal advice to Concordia – an independent NGO supporting children, young people, and families in need in Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, Kosovo, and Austria – which the firm has been supporting for the past 15 years.