On the 19th of January, there has been yet another competition infringement investigation (ex officio) by the Serbian Commission for the Protection of the Competition, this time against VAILLANT doo Beograd (Vaillant) regarding the market of gas boilers!

Senior Dispute Resolution Expert at CMS Belgrade and CMS Podgorica Nenad Kovacevic has been promoted to Partner. 

One of the long-debated domestic themes is non-existence of retail NPL market in Serbia. Following the 2008 World Economic Crisis in Serbia, the country managed to regulate corporate NPL market, and to decrease NPL level from 20% to 3,19 %.

CEELMDirect Profile Pick: A series of interviews with partners and firms with Premium profiles on the CEELMDirect legal directory. Today’s interview: Vladimir Bojanovic, Managing Partner at Bojanovic & Partners in Belgrade.

Ministry of Mining and Energy published on 21st January, long awaited draft of the Amendments to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (RESA) with purpose to push forward further investments in RES sector by creating better legal framework for development of new projects.

The “digitalization” buzzword can easily be found in the 21st century’s most-frequently-used vocabulary section. Something all businesses aspire to, digitalization can, depending on the specific area, represent a multitude of things, always being an inexhaustible power drive on a journey towards a modernized and efficient business playground.

Klara Kiehl, Clemens Rainer, Sascha Schulz, and Marco Thorbauer have been appointed as Schoenherr Partners in Austria, while Serbia's Jelena Arsic, Jovan Barovic, and Dusan Obradovic, Bulgaria's Tsvetan Krumov, and Hungary's Laszlo Krupl have all been appointed as Local Partners with the firm.

In December, the European Commission (“Commission”) issued a Statement of Objections (“SO”) to Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc. The Commission said that based on its preliminary view, Facebook had violated EU antitrust rules by distorting competition for online display advertising on social media linked to Facebook Marketplace.

Vulic Law has advised the Soracom Corporation LTD on the Serbian IoT market.

CEELMDirect Profile Pick: A series of interviews with partners and firms with Premium profiles on the CEELMDirect legal directory. Today’s interview: Igor Zivkovski, Partner at the Zivkovic Samardzic Law Office in Belgrade.

In the past few months, the vibrant IT sector has been rapidly developing in Serbia, with the emergence and growth of highly digitalized companies at the forefront, according to Cvjeticanin & Partners Managing Partner Nenad Cvjeticanin.

BDK Advokati has advised Croatia's Degordian on its acquisition of a 51% stake in Serbian e-commerce software development company Shopycode.

NKO Partners has advised the Dr. Max Group on its acquisition of the Cvejic pharmacy chain in Serbia. Bajic & Popovic reportedly advised the seller.

Gecic Law Head of Operations and Co-Head of the ESG practice Hristina Kosec has been promoted to Partner.

Spanish authority for personal data protection recently passed a decision rejecting one of 101 appeals filed by NOYB, privacy activist organisation, against 101 European company for using Google Analytics.

Cvjeticanin & Partners has successfully represented Tehnomedia in disputed trademark registration proceedings before Serbia’s Intellectual Property Office.

Harrisons has advised the EBRD on its EUR 12 million unsecured loan to the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, in Serbia, for the financing of the implementation of energy efficiency measures in around 80 public buildings in 20 municipalities.

Petrovic Legal has advised Hefestos Capital on its acquisition of TMK Europe from undisclosed sellers.