The General Court (GC) of the European Union ruled in favour of Apple in the state aid case regarding Apple's Irish tax structure, annulling the 2016 decision of the European Commission (EC). As a result, Ireland is at present not obliged to reclaim the amount of EUR 13 billion from Apple. The decision is not yet final due to the EC's right to appeal.

The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic recently issued an interesting decision concerning the employment of a managing director and an accident at work. It should be noted that this decision does not relate to a long-term problem with the concurrence of functions, i.e. the (im)possibility of performing the function of a managing director in an employment relationship, but reflects a situation where the managing director performs non-parallel work, i.e. work outside the function of a statutory body.

The new Montenegrin Companies Act ("Official Gazette of Montenegro", no. 65/20) [Zakon o privrednim drustvima] ("Companies Act"), which entered into force on 11 July 2020, is an innovative and thoroughgoing codification of Montenegrin Corporate Law. The legislator opted for a comprehensive legal instrument which, compared to the previous law, contains more detailed and exhaustive rules determining the establishment, management, restructuring, termination and functioning of business entities.

Schoenherr is reporting that the United Group's EUR 1.2 billion acquisition of Vivacom (Bulgarian Telecommunications Company EAD), the largest telecom operator in Bulgaria — the deal that was signed in November 2019 and won CEE Legal Matters' 2019 Deal of the Year for Bulgaria — has closed. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison acted as lead English counsel to the United Group, while CMS and Kambourov & Partners were, respectively, English and Bulgarian counsel to the sellers.

We decided to lighten the mood this time around by asking our Law Firm Marketing experts from across the region a non-law-firm related question: “What did you most want to be when you were little?”

Schoenherr has assisted Auer-Blaschke GmbH & Co KG with the registration of its new AUER brand design as a model brand at the Austrian Patent Office.

New legislation that affects investments in Polish entities by investors from outside the EEA and OECD will enter into force on 24 July 2020. The Act on Control of Certain Investments (the "Act"), recently amended by the so-called Anti-Crisis Shield Act, empowers the President of the Office for Competition and Consumer Protection (the "OCCP") to review foreign investments on the grounds of public security, order and health. The new screening mechanism will apply over the next two years. 

Clifford Chance Badea has advised the Kingspan Group, a company specialized in high-performance insulation and building envelope solutions, on the acquisition of TeraSteel SA, TeraSteel DOO Serbia, and Wetterbest SA. Schoenherr advised TeraPlast on the deal.

Lawmakers have adopted new rules protecting consumers against faulty goods applicable as of 1 January 2021.

Schoenherr has advised Panattoni Europe on its lease of space at Poland's Panattoni Park Ruda Slaska II to Dywidag-Systems International sp. z o.o., a producer of geotechnical and compression systems. 

Stay informed about the latest developments in competition law in Central and Eastern Europe with Schoenherr's multi-jurisdictional newsletter. Each issue offers insight into developments in merger control, anti-trust, as well as public and private enforcement in the region.

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.

On 15 July 2020 the Austrian Parliament adopted a new FDI screening act (Investitionskontrollgesetz, "ICA"), following the trend to tighten the regulatory framework for foreign investment screening (read more here: Austrian government proposes new FDI screening act). The ICA will enter into force after publication in the Federal Law Gazette. It largely transposes the requirements under the EU FDI Screening Regulation (read more here: A new regulation on FDI screening in Europe).

Decision of the CJEU dated 16 July 2020, Rs C 311/18

After a few weeks of enjoying the easement of travel restrictions, with Europe leading the way, the Hungarian government adopted new rules applicable to travellers coming to Hungary. The new rules are applicable for travellers with private passports. Freight traffic is exempt. So, holiday bookings and business trips must be put on hold, yet again?

Schoenherr has successfully represented TIWAG-Tiroler Wasserkraft AG before Austria's Administrative Court in the last challenge of the decision to implement Kuhtai Storage Power Plant project.

Automated Lane Keeping Systems will be harmonised in more than 60 countries in 2021.

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.