Arabella Eichinger, Andreas Natterer, and Michael Woller have been promoted to Equity Partner, Marcin Aslanowicz, Bojan Brezan, Vid Kobe, and Maximilian Lang have been promoted to Contract Partner, and Marko Frantar has been promoted to Local Partner as part of Schoenherr's recent promotion round.

In March 2020, the coronavirus crisis urged the Hungarian government to introduce extraordinary measures to mitigate the economic consequences. This led to a general moratorium for all retail and corporate financings until the end of 2020. As one of the last measures of 2020, the Hungarian government decided to prolong the moratorium due to the second wave of the pandemic.

Schoenherr is advising Starwood Capital Group on its offer for a public takeover of VSE-listed CA Immobilien Anlagen AG.

At the end of December 2020, the Romanian Competition Council (the "RCC") published an updated iteration of the draft Emergency Government Ordinance implementing the FDI Regulation (the "FDI Draft Law"). While the FDI Draft Law is still undergoing the legislative process, it is expected to enter into force soon. As covered here, the new rules will tighten the existing FDI screening, once in force.

Schoenherr Romania has helped dairy producer Covalact SA annul a competition fine in litigation proceedings.

The new year ushered in a new era for drone users in Hungary. On 1 January 2021, new regulations entered into force, introducing a new framework for drone usage, although many details remain unregulated. A significant part of the drone regulations is set forth on the EU level by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and Commission Implementing Regulation 2019/947. The new rules in Hungary promote the proper implementation of the relevant EU Regulations, and in some instances prescribe even stricter rules for drone users.

The Digital Markets Act proposal (DMA) is a collection of complex obligations imposed on certain digital service providers. We previously described the salient features of the DMA here. In this article we focus on the definition and designation of gatekeepers, the powers of the EC compared to Member States and the potential effects of the DMA initiative within CEE.

As of 1 January 2021, Bulgaria's Commission for the Protection of Competition (the "CPC") will be available for pre-notification discussions. To this end, it has also published bylaws ("Rules") for such contacts (adopted by CPC decision 1005/10 December 2020).

D’Ornano Partners has advised the Groupama Group on its acquisition of the entire share capital of OTP Osiguranje, an insurance company owned by the OTP Bank in Croatia. Ivekovic Attorneys at Law reportedly acted as local advisors to Groupama. Schoenherr’s Hungarian office reportedly advised the seller on the deal. 

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.

Schoenherr's Prague office has advised Beijer Ref AG on the acquisition of a majority stake in Czech Sinclair Global Group s.r.o. from private individuals Ivo Nespor, Vladimir Pakosta, and Zdenek Cizek. Novalia advised the sellers on the deal.

The Czech Competition Authority (CCA) announced in a press release that it had imposed a fine of CZK 32m (approximately EUR 1.2m) on the Czech retail chain HRUŠKA, spol. s.r.o., for an alleged abuse of significant market power. The decision is not final and an appeal has been filed.

Schoenherr has advised UBS Europe SE on the sale of its onshore wealth management business in Austria to LGT Bank AG. The transaction remains subject to competition authority clearance.

On 16 December the Bulgarian Council of Ministers adopted a Decree amending the local Ordinance for exercising the right of access to medical care. It concerns medical activities covered by the National Health Insurance Fund. This is the first attempt at national legislation regulating electronic referrals and prescriptions.

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.

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.

Operators of essential services are required to notify CERT-RO - the national competent authority for security of networks and information systems - for registration in the Register of operators of essential services by 17 December 2020. Otherwise, these companies risk fines of, in some cases; up to 5% of their turnover.