It’s time to use the RRF for the promotion of energy storage in the CEE region.

A new trend is emerging in the National Institute of Pharmacy and Nutrition’s (OGYEI) recent case law on medicinal product promotion in Hungary. The OGYEI is more active, imposes higher fines, and its investigations extend to longer time periods and to a variety of promotional practices of pharma companies, instead of focusing on specific infringements as before. In numbers, the OGYEI published two to three times as many decisions annually in the past two years than before. Further, the imposed fines regularly exceed USD 75,000 and, in 2022, the OGYEI imposed its highest fine (approximately USD 100,000) in the last ten years.

On November 9, 2022, Magyar Telekom’s Legal Service Evolution Squad unveiled its largest service development project yet – the Legal Magic Book – during the company’s annual Love Your Lawyer Day event. We sat down with Magyar Telekom Group Legal Director Daniel Szeszler and Legal Service Evolution Squad Product Owner Botond Ungvary to learn more about the book and the team behind it.

The new NIS2 Directive will replace the current NIS Directive on security of network and information systems.

The most prestigious Hungarian permanent arbitration body, the Court of Arbitration attached to the Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCAC) revised its rules of proceedings with effect from 2023. Will the revised rules increase the speed and efficiency of arbitral proceedings in front of the HCAC, or it is just a facelift of the former regime?

The Hungarian Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority (NAIH) recently fined a market-leading Hungarian media service provider HUF 10 million (approx. €25,000) for failing to comply with the data processing principles of lawfulness, fairness and transparency in its cookie management solution based on the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe's Transparency and Consent (TCF) Framework. This is the first time that the Hungarian authority has imposed a fine for cookie management issues and made it public.

Klara Kiehl, Clemens Rainer, Sascha Schulz, and Marco Thorbauer have been appointed as Schoenherr Partners in Austria, while Serbia's Jelena Arsic, Jovan Barovic, and Dusan Obradovic, Bulgaria's Tsvetan Krumov, and Hungary's Laszlo Krupl have all been appointed as Local Partners with the firm.

Since 2020, EU Member States have been obliged to make specific information on ultimate beneficial owners (“UBOs”) of corporate and other legal entities available to the general public. However, in light of the recent judgment of the Court of Justice of European Union (“CJEU”), this obligation will not remain in effect and thus, changes to the accessibility of the Hungarian UBO register are to be expected.

A most vibrant year for the M&A department of Forgo, Damjanovic & Partners was primarily driven by the healthcare, insurance, and energy sectors, according to Managing Partner Zoltan Forgo.

Kapolyi has advised AutoWallis on its acquisition of Hungarian fleet management company Nelson. Lendvai and Partners advised Nelson and its shareholders.

In a recent case (C-61/21), contrary to settled case-law, the Court of Justice of the European Union did not oblige a Member State to pay compensation. Article 13 of the 2008/50/EC Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe obliges Member States to ensure that ambient air levels of NO2 and PM10 do not exceed EU-wide limit values. A resident in the Paris region considered that the French State had failed to ensure this and by this he has suffered damage to his health since 2003, caused by the deterioration of the ambient air quality in the Paris agglomeration. For these damages, he has claimed a total of EUR 21 million from the French State as compensation.

Former Diageo Head of Legal & Operations and DPO Gabor Kukovecz has joined the Phoenix Group in Hungary as the Group Legal Director.

The Bucharest-based Iulia Berea Law Office and the Budapest-based Chen Law Firm have joined the BLS-CEE network. The two firms' respective Managing Partners – Iulia Berea and Chen Chen – have also joined BLS-CEE as Collaborating Partners.

Contributed by KCG Partners.

CMS has advised 4iG on the acquisition of Vodafone Hungary together with Corvinus Nemzetkozi Befektetesi representing the Hungarian state. Slaughter & May reportedly advised Vodafone.

Circular products, extended producer responsibility, mandatory return system: new terms and new concept behind the new green tax regulation coming in 2023 in Hungary. The modification of the Green Tax Act has been already adopted, and the governmental decree with the specifications is to follow.

Former Jalsovszky Partner Gabor Pazsitka has joined the Budapest office of Cerha Hempel as a Partner and the new Head of Banking & Finance.

Oppenheim has advised Skanska on leasing 3,300 square meters of office space in H2Offices in Budapest to the DBH Group.