Schoenherr's Budapest office has helped BOE, a subsidiary of Austria's List Group, conclude a management agreement to manage the Vorosmarty Garage in Budapest. 

The fast-paced changes brought about by digital technologies continuously challenge the slow-moving legal framework of the European Union. The European Commission (EC) has long grappled with the ever-evolving practices of tech-companies. Some players, spawned from garages and dorm rooms not long ago, are now entrenched gatekeepers and generate issues enforcers simply lack tools to deal with.

Noerr has advised Switzerland's Evoco AG on the acquisition of six subsidiaries of Gesco AG from Wuppertal. 

Noerr has advised Chinese lithium batteries precision parts manufacturer Shenzhen Kedali Industry on a EUR 40 million investment in a new battery production plant in Godollo, Hungary.

On 12 November 2020 the European Commission published the new standard contractual clauses (SCCs) on data transfer (model clauses), which would replace clauses C2C and C2P under Commission decisions issued under the European Data Protection Directive. The bill subjects international transfers to significantly stricter administrative conditions in the light of the Schrems II decision. The draft act is open for feedback for 4 weeks. Feedback will be taken into account for finalising the initiative.

The Hungarian Competition Authority ('HCA') was less active in abuse of significant market power cases in the past years, but the outcome of the competition supervision proceedings recently conducted against Spar Magyarország Kereskedelmi kft. ("Spar") leads to a forward-looking solution unprecedented in such cases so far: the supermarket chain will develop a new regional supply system as a proactive reparation for the infringement. The programme with a budget of HUF 1,7 billion will not only improve small producers' sales opportunities but will also create new jobs.

DLA Piper has advised the Budapest Bank Group, KB Bank Group, and the Takarekbank Group on their establishment of the Hungarian Bankholding Ltd. financial holding company.

The act on the termination of the undivided joint ownership on lands (and on the clarification of the data of the rightholders of properties deemed agricultural land in the land registry) will enter into force on 1 January 2021.

Schoenherr has advised Switzerland-based technology company ABB on the sale of its plant in Ozd, Hungary, to wellness equipment producer Wellis, which was advised by Deloitte Legal.

On 1 December 2020 the Hungarian Parliament decided that as of 1 January 2021, one of the most effective bodies in the fight against discrimination, the Equal Treatment Authority (ETA) will be abolished. Its duties, including the legal protection against racial, gender and other discrimination, will be taken over by the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights. The proceedings ongoing on 1 January 2021 will be suspended until 31 January 2021. Likewise, ongoing administrative lawsuits appealing against decisions of ETA on 1 January 2021 will be suspended until 31 January 2021.

Minister of Finance, Mihály Varga announced in November 2020 a new, six-point action plan designed to make payments and navigating red tape easier and cheaper in Hungary, as follows:

The Hungarian Parliament has adopted new rules reforming the 2018 civil procedural rules as of 1 January 2021.

The value added tax (VAT) on selling newly built properties will be reduced from 27% to 5% from 1 January 2021.

On September 22, 2020, CEE Legal Matters reported that DLK Legal in Poland and Kinstellar in Hungary and the Czech Republic, working together with Osborne Clarke as lead counsel, had advised Infosys on its EUR 30 million acquisition of GuideVision. CEEIHM spoke with Inderpreet Sawhney, Group General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Infosys, to learn more about the deal.

Allen & Overy has advised Cisco on the acquisition of Slovakia-based Sli.do from Instando, Anton Zajac, Hewor Property Management, and Kenneth Patrick Ryan. Dentons advised the sellers on the deal.

“Right now, there is a bit of press around Hungary, for a variety of reasons,” says Kinstellar Partner Anthony O’Connor. “Some of that is related to the perceived tension between Hungary and the EU and the fact that the EU seems to be trying to tie certain expectations it has of Hungary to the funding it is due to receive.” 

Ban, S. Szabo & Partners has advised Vodafone on the demerger of Vantage Towers in Hungary. 

Debt collection is among the enforcement priorities of the Hungarian Data Protection and Freedom of Information Authority (“Hungarian DPA”) since several years a significant proportion of the Hungarian DPA decisions and court cases involving the judicial supervision of the Hungarian DPA’s decisions relate to debt collection and the handling of debtors’ complaints. In the past years, the Hungarian DPA blacklisted several practices by debt collection agencies, and the Hungarian DPA confirmed that relative to the debt collection it is illegal if debt collectors contact any third parties (i.e. the debtors’ neighbours), process the debtors’ close relatives’ personal data, process the debtors’ health related personal data (i.e. sickness or other medical condition) and any other sensitive information relative to the debtors’ whereabouts (i.e. whether the debtor is imprisoned or in pre-trial detention) or collect personal data beyond the purposes that are strictly necessary for debt collection.