PRK Partners Advises Ceska Sporitelna, Komercni Banka, and UniCredit Bank Czech Republic and Slovakia in the sale of bonds issued by EPH Financing.

Europe is awaiting the evolution of cybersecurity. On 3 May 2022, the Council and the European Parliament agreed on the so-called NIS 2 Directive (Directive on measures for a high common level of cybersecurity across the Union). NIS 2 repeals the currently effective NIS Directive.

An in-depth look at Vaclav Bily of PRK Partners covering his career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer as well as a few insights about him as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.

The Times They Are a-Changin’ – such a description is more than appropriate for the municipality-developer relationship in recent months in the Czech Republic. The adoption of a new construction code promises to bring fresh wind into development projects and improve the relationships between these two major players. This is most likely to happen thanks to the re-introduction of the so-called planning agreements into the Czech legal environment. Although already recognized and used in the past, this new instrument is getting more and more noticed by Czech municipalities, most of all by the City of Prague, which, on January 27, 2022, adopted the brand-new Guidelines on the Investor Participation in Urban Development, the application of which is done through planning agreements.

Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine and the subsequent wave of refugees has been a new challenge for all European countries – and the Czech Republic is no different. A very low unemployment rate and a shortage of workers is a long-standing problem in Czechia and, thus, this new situation brings not only challenges but also opportunities. There have been more job openings than workers in the Czech economy since 2018 and, in 2021, the Labour Office recorded about 350,000 job openings. This situation slowed growth in the Czech economy and, thus, accepting Ukrainian refugees happens to be not only a moral obligation but also in the country’s best interest and an opportunity for future growth.

Life Sciences R&D has consistently been touted as one of the Czech government’s top priorities – and the markets and investors have not been indifferent. We reached out to several experts to check up on the overall health of life sciences R&D in the Czech Republic and learn how that priority translates into practice.

The sixth package of European Union sanctions imposed on Russia is a widely discussed topic, yet the overall levels of preparedness to adopt the associated energy import ban varies from one country to another. Indeed, with Russian oil and gas exports being such a dominant source of energy for a number of European countries, it remains to be seen how all of them adapt to the change. To gain insight into how certain EU member states and non-EU countries are (likely) to fare in the immediate wake of the ban, we reached out to legal professionals from Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Moldova.

PRK Partners has advised SCS Software on relocating its Prague headquarters to the Roztyly Plaza project.

PRK Partners, working alongside Luther, has advised the shareholder of the I.G. Bauherin Group on its sale to US automotive supplier Lear Corporation. Mayer Brown reportedly advised the Lear Corporation.

On July 7, four leading lawyers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ukraine sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea to discuss the increasing prominence of ESG issues and their impact on M&A transactions, due diligence procedures, and the role of the lawyers themselves.

Over the past few years, the phenomenon of ESG has grown in importance at a breathtaking speed. Originally an instrument in the financial markets allowing investors to better assess the risks in their investments, ESG has further evolved into a major legislative effort of the European Union.

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Savoric & Partners, and Filip & Company have advised Borealis on a binding offer for its nitrogen business from the Agrofert group. Wolf Theiss advised Agrofert. Oppenheim, Boyanov & Co, and PRK Partners reportedly advised Borealis as well.

PRK Partners Partner Vaclav Bily has been appointed as the new Managing Partner of the firm.

CEELMDirect Profile Pick: A series of interviews with partners and firms with Premium profiles on the CEELMDirect online legal directory. Today’s interview: Roman Pecenka, Partner at PRK Partners in the Czech Republic.

Energy prices have been a salient issue in CEE for the past year. Part 1 of this article covered just how high the energy prices had climbed in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, and Turkey, the impact of those prices on people, businesses, and governments, as well as the reasons why some countries fared better than others. Then Russia’s war against Ukraine changed everything, making a new energy pricing normal seem more distant than ever. In Part 2 we look at what energy experts believe could alleviate the situation and whether the war has impacted those plans.

In the past twelve months, energy prices seem to have taken a life of their own. Their continued and, at times, shocking growth has raised concerns across the region and prompted differing responses and policy changes in each country. To get a more accurate picture of recent developments, we reached out to experts in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, and Turkey and asked them about the current energy prices, their impact on local economies, the drivers behind their growth, and whether any plans were in place to address the issue.

The ongoing lockdown and changing restrictions as well as prices surging as a consequence of growing inflation are hitting the Czech economy hard, but the country is holding on mightily, according to PRK Partners Partner Martin Aschenbrenner.

There are few people who have not experienced a situation where a builder implements a project that complies with the spatial planning documentation, but is highly incongruous with the prevailing character of the area in which the structure is to be built. Specifically, construction of buildings in the 1990s and early 21st century, which belong to the pseudo-style called “entrepreneurial baroque”, is evidence of grossly insensitive location of buildings, ignoring the character and nature of the existing neighbourhood. Nonetheless, the trend in Czech building legislation over the last decade and a half has been an increasing emphasis on the aesthetic features of new developments and their integration into the urban and architectural environment, whereas individual interests of the builder and his oftentimes wild ideas about the appearance of the structure tend to be sidelined. The key here is the concept of “urban and architectural values in the area”.