In December 2021 the Bulgarian Parliament adopted a moratorium on electricity, water supply and heating prices on the regulated market. The moratorium was imposed due to the record high electricity prices on the Independent Bulgarian Electricity Exchange ("IBEX") and the expected adjustments in the prices on the regulated market applicable to household customers. The Bulgarian Energy and Water Regulatory Commission ("Regulator") has been prevented from taking any action regarding these price increases until 31 March 2022 by virtue of the moratorium.

Schoenherr’s Alexandra Doytchinova and Stefana Tsekova Talk About The Deal of the Year in Bulgaria.

Last year was a good one for the automotive industry in Bulgaria. According to information from the Automotive Cluster Bulgaria, a total of 12 projects worth more than EUR 500 million were in the process of implementation in late 2018 and early 2019. These projects are from companies like ETEM, Visteon, Leoni, Voss Automotive, Sensata, and Bosch; i.e. first-, second- and third-tier suppliers whose business is not solely tied to the automotive industry. According to the Cluster, the sector already covers more than 220 enterprises with a turnover of EUR 5 billion, which represents approximately 10% of Bulgaria’s GDP.

After years of anticipation, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entered into force and took effect on May 25, 2018, bringing about several changes to Europe’s current data protection regime.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation is, according to the EU-hosted GDPR website, “the most important change in data privacy regulation in the past 20 years.” The Act, which was approved by the EU Parliament on April 14, 2016 and will become fully effective on May 25, 2018, was designed “to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens’ data privacy, and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy.”