During the Covid-19 pandemic, in every industry where it was possible employers transferred their employees to work from home.

On 14 September 2022 the European Commission ("EC") published a proposal for a Regulation on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices ("Emergency Intervention Regulation" or "EIR"). The EIR requires EU Member states to implement three different measures: (i) Reduction in demand for electricity, (ii) Capping market revenues for the generation of electricity from inframarginal technologies (renewables, nuclear and lignite), and (iii) Collection of a monetary solidarity contribution from the fossil fuel industry. The EC says that the intervention measures can be based on Art 122 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU") which establishes a competence for crisis intervention in the energy sector. However, it is questionable if the EC's view is going to withstand a judicial review since Art 122 TFEU has a very limited scope of application and some of the proposed intervention measures appear to go far beyond that scope.

As of 1 July 2022, Hungary's already existing financial transaction tax has been extended to payment service provision, credit and loan provision, currency exchange and mediated currency exchange services provided on a cross-border basis in Hungary. Provision of cross-border services means financial services provided in a country other than the country where the seat, place of business, head office, or branch of the service provider is located. Basically, this means that non-Hungarian service providers providing such services to Hungarian customers will most probably be affected by this extension.

In its most recent decision in connection with the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive (the Habitats Directive), the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) found that environmental organisations (EOs) – contrary to the principles of process prerequisites in the Austrian legal system – do not have to prove an interest in legal protection.

Schoenherr, in cooperation with Moravcevic Vojnovic and Partners, has advised Greiner Packaging International on its acquisition of Serbian PET flake producer Alwag from Aling-Conel and Reiwag Facility Services. The Stanivukovic law office advised majority shareholder Aling-Conel on the sale.

PLK Advokati has advised Montenegrin media companies Daily Press and Televizija Vijesti on the sale of a 51% stake to United Media. Schoenherr reportedly advised United Media.

This article provides an up-to-date overview of the currently existing FDI regimes in Hungary.

This article provides an up-to-date overview of the currently existing FDI regimes in Slovenia.

Wolf Theiss, working with Aird & Berliss, has advised Jade Power Trust on the sale of its portfolio of six renewable energy projects to Enery Power Holding. Schoenherr advised the buyer.

New investment screening legislation entered into force on 1 March 2021. Under the new FDI regime the acquisition of a shareholding in certain designated entities or of the business of these entities needs to be reported and may be subject to approval of the Slovak Government.

Schoenherr, working with Noerr, has advised Nord Holding on the acquisition of a majority stake in the Heizkurier Group from Odewald KMU. Heuking and Ebner Stolz reportedly advised the sellers on the deal.

On 19 May 2022, the Moldovan Parliament voted on the new Law on Electronic Identification and Trust Services ("Law 124/2022"). Law 124/2022 will enter into force on 10 December 2022 and replaces the currently existing Law on Electronic Signature and Electronic Document ("Law 91/2014"). This replacement seeks to align the national legislation in the field of electronic signature with European norms, namely the harmonisation with Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC.

Serbia does not have a foreign investment screening regime comparable to European regimes shaped by the EU FDI Screening Regulation. Rather, Serbia operates a single-sector authorisation system covering the defence sector.

Hosted by Penkov, Markov & Partners, nine lawyers from Bulgaria – six working in-house and three in private practice – sat down for a round table conversation to discuss the EU Whistleblowing Directive and how it will impact companies in the country.

It is common for employers and employees to agree on a probationary period in the employment contract. The employee can check whether the type of work, place of work and the wage or other working conditions suit them, while the employer can use the probationary period to assess whether the employee is meeting its expectations. During the probationary period, each party can decide whether they wish to remain in the employment relationship or to terminate it. 

Even if your main focus is on developing your business and you think that the keys to HR are solid wages and an interesting benefits package, there are still some important issues in Czech employment law you should be aware of.

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.

Schoenherr, working with Mannheimer Swartling, has advised Alfa Laval Corporate on its acquisition of Scanjet Systems.