A series of minor yet impactful amendments were introduced to the Romanian Companies Law through Law No. 102/2020, which came into force on 5 July 2020, making it easier for investors and entrepreneurs to set up a new company. The Romanian Parliament adopted the amendments in order to reduce the red tape around company incorporation and encourage investment in the Romanian economy.

Mihnea Galgotiu-Sararu has made Partner at Reff & Associates/Deloitte Legal and will head the firm's Litigation and Arbitration Practice.

Simona Marin has been named the Head of Denton's Banking and Finance practice in Bucharest.

Stratulat Albulescu has advised digital technology consulting company Brillio on the acquisition of Cognetik.

Zamfirescu Racoti Vasile & Partners has successfully represented Banca Transilvania in a contract dispute before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

In 2012, Romania banned the execution of power purchase agreements (the “PPAs”) by direct negotiations, imposing that all wholesale transactions be concluded on the centralized market operated by the Operator of the Electricity and Gas Market Opcom S.A. (“OPCOM”). The measure was imposed through article 23 of the Electricity and Gas Law no. 123/2012 (the “Energy Law”), law newly adopted at that time.

After a long and drawn out legislative process commenced in 2017, Law no. 102/2020 amending and supplementing the Companies Law no. 31/1990 (“Law 102/2020”) has finally entered into force on July 5, 2020, setting in place major changes to the corporate regulatory framework.

Like any other state in the world, Romania has been confronted in recent months and is still confronting with the atrocity of the pandemic caused by the Coronavirus COVID-19. Since the outburst of the rapidly spreading virus, all resources available were mobilized to effectively contain it and to repair the economic and social damage brought by the pandemic.

Acting on behalf of Chep Equipment Pooling NV, the tax litigation practice of Radu si Asociatii has obtained a ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union on the right of non-resident taxpayers to obtain VAT refunds.

Earlier on 23 June 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (the „Court”) issued a decision in the case Vladimir Kharitonov v. Russia (Application no. 10795/14), in which the Court reiterated that blocking access to a website may constitute a violation of freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (the „Convention”).  Prior to this, the Court had ruled on this matter in other relevant cases, i.e. Ahmet Yıldırım v. Turkey (no. 3111/10, ECHR 2012) and Cengiz and Others v. Turkey, nos. 48226/10 and 14027/11, ECHR 2015) and the Court’s new decision reminds us of some of the principles stated before. The decision was issued along with other three cases, OOO Flavus and Others v. Russia (application nos. 12468/15, 23489/15, and 19074/16), Bulgakov v. Russia (no. 20159/15), and Engels v. Russia (no. 61919/16) all of which concern various forms of website blocking.

With a streamlined system of real estate protection and a modern Civil Code, property interests and real estate investments in Romania have never been more secure. Increasing digitalisation and recent improvements in land registration go a long way to making the legal process of purchasing real estate more effective and efficient.

As the recent pandemic showed, the modern world fully relies on the good functioning of the electronic communication sector. Communication plays an important part these days for individuals, businesses, public authorities, and the implementation of 5G technology will create the premises for enhancing the way society uses and benefits from the electronic communication sector.

CEE Attorneys Boanta, Gidei si Asociatii has advised the Sparking Capital investment fund on the financing of Romanian start-up Questo. Digital 2 Law advised Questo on the deal.

Following the formal adoption by the European Council of the directive to postpone the initial reporting deadlines for “DAC6” by six months, on 1 July 2020 the Romanian Government adopted Emergency Ordinance no. 107/2020 by which it extends the deadline for submission of reports regarding cross-border transactions under DAC6 rules.

Radulescu & Musoi has advised Black Sea Fund I on its acquisition of an unspecified stake in interior design and custom furniture company Intermedio General, which operates under the Theta brand. Schoenherr advised the seller on the deal.

Long-time Romanian Magistrate Constantin Branzan has joined Popescu & Asociatii's Litigation and Arbitration Department in Bucharest.

Vasile Tiple, the first in-house counsel and former General Counsel of UiPath, has left that role to become Head of Legal Automation – in which capacity he intends to develop a new and expanded Legal Automation Program as part of the company's business offering. 

After operating under the brands Andersen Tax, Andersen Legal, and Andersen Tax & Legal, the member firms of Andersen Global in Europe, will now operate under a single brand: "Andersen".