Kinstellar has announced several appointments to firm-wide practice and sector leadership positions, including Partner Csilla Andreko in Budapest, Partner Iustinian Captariu and Special Counsel Magda Raducanu in Bucharest, Managing Partner Milos Velimirovic in Belgrade, Managing Partner Lukas Sevcik and Counsel Jan Lehky in Prague, and Managing Associate Lukas Mrazik in Bratislava.

With Hungary's economic and legal outlook plugged into global uncertainties and no shortage of those, two market sectors still stand out in terms of potential – energy and agriculture – according to HP Legal Partner Laszlo Hajdu, who, looking at the fundamentals, shares an optimistic view of the country's future.

Former Nagy & Trocsanyi Managing Partner Peter Berethalmi has joined Lakatos Koves & Partners as a Counsel. Joining LKT alongside him is former Nagy & Trocsanyi Attorney at Law Zsuzsanna Regina Lukacs.

Dentons has advised HB Reavis on the sale of its in-house-developed technology platform Symbiosy to HqO.

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.

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.

Baker McKenzie has advised the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group on setting up its first operation in Hungary following the renovation and rebranding of the former Gellert Hotel in Budapest.

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.

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.

Crido has advised Duna Aszfalt on its acquisition of Mota Engil Central Europe. DLA Piper advised the sellers. Cerha Hempel reportedly advised Duna Aszfalt as well.

As of 13 January 2024, a new government decree amends the provisions of the clearance procedure of the Government Decree on certain foreign direct investments (“FDI”). The amendment grants the Hungarian State a right of first refusal in respect of acquisitions of strategic companies whose main or additional registered activity is electricity production and pursue solar power plant-related activity that are to be acquired by foreign investors.

Early-stage startups often face a significant challenge due to their very limited runway – as usually they burn money faster than they are able to acquire funding – which makes external capital crucial for sustainability. From the perspective of potential investors determining the worth of these startups is a key factor in deciding whether to invest or not into the specific project which is complex and time consuming, a luxury startups often lack.

Kinga Laszlo-Bolcskei has been promoted to a Partner position with Ban, S. Szabo, Rausch & Partners in Budapest.

On January 4, 2024, Boyanov & Co announced that the EUR 1.4 billion sale of Cargo-Partner subsidiaries to Nippon Express (reported by CEE Legal Matters on May 17, 2023) had closed.

The digitalisation of the Hungarian tax system has reached another important milestone: after lengthy preparatory work (and a few setbacks), the e-VAT system was launched on 1 January 2024, on a voluntary basis, for now.

Kinstellar, working with Linklaters' Madrid office, has advised a consortium of lenders on their EUR 800 million financing for AmRest. Uria Menendez reportedly advised AmRest.

The Hungarian Parliament adopted a new act on the rules of the entry and residence of third-country nationals on 12 December 2023.