In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and stay up to date with the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas. 

In the pursuit of promoting renewable energy sources and achieving goals like decarbonization, as well as more ambitious ones such as energy independence, the European Union constantly both encourages and imposes achieving these objectives on the member states. As the whole world was recently shaken by pandemics and war, we are now facing an energy crisis worsened by these tragedies. In this context, in the second half of last year, Romanian legislators adopted several pieces of legislation aimed at mending various blockages encountered in practice by RES developers.

Looking ahead to 2023, white-collar crime is likely to be a subject of close scrutiny by local and EU authorities across CEE. CMS CEE Partner Nedeljko Velisavljevic, from Serbia, and CMS Head of the Criminal Defense Practice in Romania Mihai Jiganie-Serban explore the current context, latest developments, and outlook of white-collar crime practices in CEE.

I’ve been incredibly fortunate to be a part of the CEE legal community for the better part of 30 years. I arrived in Prague as a young associate in July 1991 and, after a small hiatus in New York in the mid-90s, have been based in Budapest for the last 26 years, initially with White & Case and for the last eight years with Dentons. While I’ve had the privilege of working with other, more qualified lawyers than I in a variety of commercial situations, my heart and soul has been in the mergers and acquisitions world.

Act Botezatu Estrade Partners has advised Louis Delhaize on the sale of its Romanian Cora operations – including ten Cora hypermarkets and eight Cora Urban stores – to the Carrefour Group. Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii advised Carrefour.

It is no secret that Romania is the EU Member State with the least digitised services in the public administration. But that is about to change.

Clifford Chance Badea has advised the arrangers on implementing the EUR 500 million bond issuance of Banca Transilvania. Filip & Company advised issuer Banca Transilvania.

Popovici Nitu Stoica & Asociatii has announced it is acting as the exclusive legal advisor for Romanian swimmer David Popovici.

Schoenherr, working alongside Linklaters and Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, has advised the Carrier Global Corporation on its acquisition of Viessmann Climate Solutions. Hengeler Mueller and, reportedly, Davis Polk & Wardwell advised Viessmann Climate Solutions.

The Romanian public and sectoral procurement legislation has recently undergone several important changes aimed at clarifying certain provisions that used to be open to interpretation and/or have given rise to disputes in practice.

Clifford Chance Badea has advised a bank syndicate coordinated by Banca Comerciala Romana on the USD 531.8 million syndicated loan facility – which can be increased to USD 600 million – for three KMG International Group companies in Romania: Rompetrol Rafinare, Rompetrol Downstream, and KMG Rompetrol.

April 2023 – Early 2023 is shedding light on how to implement the numerous changes to Romanian labour law that occurred during 2022. In addition, at the EU level, a new directive which is set to come into force provides for equal pay for women and men.

Following the legislative changes introduced at the beginning of 2022 concerning the long-term visa for digital nomads, the Romanian tax authorities have published Law no. 69/2023 in the Official Gazette no. 265 of 30 March 2023.

The business world is evolving at lightning speed, and technology is at the forefront of this change. One of the most significant technological advancements is the use of chatbots such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. Even though using ChatGPT might sound like a good idea and simplify workflows, its widespread use in the workplace can be a double-edged sword, raising concerns about the potential risks and legal issues that employers must take into account to safeguard their business.

Schoenherr has advised HS Timber Group on its sale of HS Timber Productions Sebes to Ziegler Group. BPV Grigorescu Stefanica and BPV Huegel advised the buyer.

Law 88/2023, which was published in Official Gazette no. 310 from 12/04/2023, contains important amendments to the Romanian Fiscal Code.

Last week the European Union took a major step towards regulating the fast-growing cryptocurrency market with the final approval of the Regulation on Markets in Crypto-Assets (“MiCA”). The new regulation was approved by the European Parliament on 20 April 2023, and is now subject to formal endorsement by the European Council and publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Despite the challenging global landscape, Romania’s banking sector continues to show resilience – with M&A activity in line with the second half of 2022 – according to Filip & Company Partner Alexandra Manciulea.