Insights
Perspectives on investment, business, and professional services across Central and Eastern Europe.
Brexit - Potential impact on London based private equity managers
On the 23rd of June, the UK voted to leave the European Union. Known as 'Brexit', the UK Government with...
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Banking secrecy in Cyprus update
Complete bank secrecy is fast becoming a matter of the past.
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Cyprus: Proposed amendment in regards to automatic exchange of information
An important amendment to the Assessment and Collection of Taxes Law (N.4/1978) in Cyprus is currently under consideration.
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The Bulgarian Supreme Court has repealed cumbersome fee rates under the Public Procurement Act
Note: the live site page for this article appears to contain the Cyprus automatic exchange of information content due to a publishing error on the ...
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How to establish a limited liability company in Czech Republic
A limited liability company is the most common corporate form established by foreign investors in Czech Republic.
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The new enforcement and security act in Serbia
Serbia's new Enforcement and Security Act (ESA) was adopted on 18 December 2015, and has become effective as of 1 July 2016.
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New type of investment fund in Slovakia
A recent amendment to the Collective Investment Act, effective from 18 March 2016, introduced numerous changes in Slovakia's collective investment ...
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How Brexit may impact British property owners in Bulgaria
One of the most popular enquiries after Brexit is how expats and people who own property in Bulgaria will be affected.
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New amendment to the Hungarian Civil Code
The purpose of the new amendment to the Hungarian Civil Code, effective as of 1 October 2016, is to make effective the independent mortgage.
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Immovable property acquisition taxation in Czech Republic
On June 1, 2016, the Czech Parliament issued a tax bill that modified immovable property acquisition tax regulations.
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Call options as security under the Hungarian law
Although the current Hungarian Civil Code does not expressly provide for a call option as a security, it does not prohibit such a security.
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New legislation on Warsaw properties
When the Second World War ended in 1945, Warsaw was in ruins. The new communist government introduced the 1945 Warsaw Land Decree.
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Highlights of the proposed changes to the Bulgarian Commerce Act
In line with European Union recommendations, Bulgaria has prepared a draft law amending the Bulgarian Commerce Act.
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Amendment law concerning the payment system in Romania
On 14 November 2016, an amended law was published relating to the introduction of modern payment systems.
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New remedies for European individuals under the new EU General Data Protection Regulation
The new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is due to come into effect on 25 May 2018.
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The highest antitrust fine in Serbia
The Serbian Commission for Protection of Competition has fined EPS Distribution for the abuse of dominant position in the amount of 330 million RSD.
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Transfer pricing in Poland
From the year 2017 onwards, the obligation to prepare transfer pricing documentation between related companies will remain only with the entities w...
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Naturalisation of investors in Cyprus
The following non-Cypriot natural persons who meet one of the set financial criteria are eligible to apply for the acquisition of Cypriot citizenship.
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New Type of Investment Fund in Slovakia
A recent amendment to the Collective Investment Act introduced numerous changes in Slovakia's collective investment market.
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New effective fees and stamp duties related to the construction sector and company incorporations
The Hungarian Parliament has recently enacted legislation relating to certain fees and duties that will reduce the procedural costs for corporate e...
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EU commission issues new rules on concluding energy supply agreements with non-EU member states
New EU regulations adopted by Parliament on March 2, 2017 govern energy supply agreements with non-EU nations.
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Tax inspectors must now prove misfeasance in EU cross-border mergers
In March, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rendered its decision in the Société Euro Park Service case.
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Draft law regarding damages arising from anticompetitive behaviours
The Czech Republic must implement Directive 2014/104/EU concerning actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law ...
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New Employment Law Rules in Bulgaria
As of January 2017, amendments to the Bulgarian Labour Code mandate certain new protections for Bulgarian nationals working in other European count...
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Serbia has expanded its double taxation treaty coverage
Effective as of 2017, Serbia's double taxation treaty network has been extended to include Luxembourg.
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Restrictions on the development of encumbered plots of land
The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic has ruled that any development of an encumbered plot of land by an easement is restricted to only certain b...
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M&A in Cyprus
The Law Relating to Control of Concentrations between Enterprises, No. 22(I)/1999 as amended by Law 107(I)...
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A short discussion on the electricity and gas sector in Albania
Albania performs reasonably well overall with respect to the quality of its energy (electricity and natural...
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Company registration in Bulgaria
The registration of investment vehicles in Bulgaria has several benefits. The incorporation process itself...
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Marketing of pharmaceuticals products in Croatia
Since joining the EU, Croatia has agreed to implement the applicable EU regulatory framework governing the...
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Highlights of the new Polish restructuring legal framework
The long-time debate on new restructuring procedures in Poland has recently yielded a specific piece of...
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Our new name - Penenden Law
We are pleased to announce today that we have rebranded our firm regionally as Penenden LLP. This change is...
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New taxation regime in Romania on labour payments
This past November 2017, the Romanian Government issued Emergency Ordinance no. 79/2017, which modified the...
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Hungarian autumn tax package effective January 1, 2018
The Hungarian Parliament has adopted significant amendments to the tax legislation relating to the procedural...
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New changes to power purchase agreements in Ukraine
Recently, there has been a push in Ukraine to amend power purchase agreements (PPAs) between Energorynok...
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Greece's new Hellenic Cadastre
According to Law 4512/2018, Greece has abolished and replaced its 'National Cadastre and Mapping Agency...
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Tax changes in Turkey
Turkish PM Yildirim has announced his government's economic package that contains social reforms and...
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Romania: Squeeze-outs of minority shareholders
The squeeze-out of minority shareholders in closely held companies is one of the most highly controversial...
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GDPR considerations in M&A transactions
Europe's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on May 25 and introduced unified EU...
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Romania: Amendments to the implementing instructions for applying the Fiscal Code
Listed below are the main amendments included in Government Decision no. 354/2018 amending and supplementing...
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Russia: New VAT rules on cross-border e-commerce services: key points for B2B service providers
Russia has introduced new value-added tax (VAT) rules pertaining to certain cross-border e-commerce...
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Bulgaria: CPC deems minimum hotel accommodation prices anti-competitive
The Ministry of Tourism recently proposed the introduction of minimum prices for sites categorised as...
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New Trade Secrets Directive now in force across Central and Eastern Europe
As we were all busy preparing for Europe's new GDPR system, we seem to have lost sight of the new EU Trade...
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Romania: Companies will be able to distribute dividends on a quarterly basis
The Romanian Parliament recently approved the Law on the Amendment and Completion of the Accounting Law...
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Czech Republic: Restrictive clauses in lease agreements
Restrictive clauses are common in commercial lease agreements. Such clauses can limit a landlord's ability...
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Hungary: Decline in turnover in employee dismissal cases
Companies always can restructure their internal organisation in order to increase efficiency, reduce costs...
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Poland: Recent competition developments
The Polish competition authority has recently announced that proceedings had been initiated against Gazprom...
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Bulgaria: Boost to creditors' rights on pledged receivables
The most popular Bulgarian security interests under credit transactions are special pledges, resembling...
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Hungary: A managing director without representation rights
Hungarian law has always permitted shareholders of a company to limit the power of the company's managing...
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Montenegro: Competition update
The most important change introduced by recent amendments to Montenegro's Competition Act is that a single...
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Romania: Recent corporate changes
Following the entry into force of the Fourth Anti-money Laundering (AML) Directive (2015/849) in 2015...
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EU regulatory change for online businesses
In its 'Proposal for a Regulation for fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation...
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Slovenia: Competition update
In July 2017 the Slovenian Competition Protection Agency initiated proceedings against Renault. The company...
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Bulgaria: Competition update
On 19 July 2018 the Bulgarian competition authority prohibited the following two concentrations: the sale...
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Hungary: Changes in trade secrets
On 8 June 2016, the European Parliament and the European Council adopted a Directive which aims to...
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Romanian transfer pricing
According to the latest statistics, Romanian tax authorities rank transfer pricing (TP) high on their agenda...
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Poland: Tax update
The Polish government has announced a draft law to introduce an exit tax, which is a form of tax charged on...
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Hungarian update
In recent years, the Hungarian Competition Authority (HCA) has seemingly aimed to foster cooperation...
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Hungary's new work-life balance
Gender equality may be a core EU principle, but it will not become a reality without effective legal action...
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Romania competition update
Romania's Competition Authority has increasingly engaged in extra-jurisdictional investigations, involving...
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GDPR
The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has been in effect the European market since 25 May...
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Poland: Unfair practices
One year has passed in Poland since the Act on Counteracting the Unfair Use of Contractual Advantage in the...
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Bulgaria: Competition law update
With Decision No. 1046 issued on 20 September 2018, the Bulgarian Commission for the Protection of...
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Romania: New rules on internships
The internship contract is an alternative tool by which a company provides a student or trainee the...
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Romania: Fiscal update
Below is a list of the main amendments included in the Emergency Government Ordinance no. 89/2018 regarding...
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Romania: Health and safety
Failure to take or observe mandatory measures for health and safety at work may entail, among other types of...
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Hungary: Thoughts on national security
The Hungarian Government recently adopted Act no. LVII of 2018 on the Control of Investments Detrimental to...
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Romania: Corporate law update
To enable decisions to be passed efficiently, Romania's Companies Law creates flexible mechanisms and...
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Infrastructure note
Technology-driven transformations are not only disrupting our everyday lives, but are also radically...
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Czech Republic: Competition update
This past April the Czech Office for the Protection of Competition adopted new guidelines on the method of...
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Romania: Oil & gas update
Debate is raging about the Romanian 'offshore' law setting out the legal framework for oil & gas exploration...
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Romania: PPP / infrastructure update
The Romanian government recently launching the first public procedure for the award of a strategic...
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Bosnia and Herzegovina: Competition update
The Bosnia and Herzegovina Competition Council will apply new tariffs as from November 2018. Among these...
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Bulgaria: UBOs
Companies have until 31 May 2019 to register their beneficial owners in the Bulgarian Commercial Register...
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Czech Republic: Corporate compliance programs
Business corporations have been criminally liable in the Czech Republic since January 2012. A December 2016...
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Hungary: Digital consumer protection
The Hungarian Competition Authority (HCA) recently published a strategy paper presenting its views on...
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Romania: Environmental update
Environmental permits ('EP') and integrated environmental permits ('IEP') are now subject to annual...
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Romania: Employment update
On 1 January 2019, the Romanian monthly minimum gross wage will increase from RON 1,900 to RON 2,080, and...
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Serbia: GDPR update
After a public hearing that lasted more than a year, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia adopted...
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Poland: reporting obligations
On January 1, 2019, Poland introduced obligations to report 'tax arrangements' following the requirements...
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Broadcasting in the EU
On 6 November 2018, the European Council approved a slew of long-awaited changes to the Audiovisual Media...
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Romania: Tax update
Emergency Ordinance No. 114/2018, on the establishment of measures in the field of public investments and of...
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Ukraine and Israel free trade
On 21 January 2019, Ukraine and Israel formally concluded a free trade agreement. The full text of the FTA...
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Czech Republic: Insurance update
On 1 December 2018 the new Insurance Distribution Act became effective in the Czech Republic. It replaces...
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Romania: Tax update
The main provisions of Law 30/2019 amending Government Emergency Ordinance 25/2018. The Registry of...
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What happens to Dot-EU?
EURid is the private, independent, not for profit organisation that has operated the dot.eu TLD since 2003...
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Romania: Tax update
Project Iceberg, launched at the beginning of this year by the Romanian tax authorities, is a giant nationwide...
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Romania: Corporate update
Of the five types of corporation that may be established under Romanian law, joint stock and limited...
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Serbia: GDPR update
Adoption of the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), applicable as...
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Unfair advertising in Bulgaria
The Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) recently penalised Metro Cash & Carry Lev 14,972,320...
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Croatia: Whistleblowers
Croatian employers have until the end of this year to partially comply with the recently enacted Act on the...
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FDI update
On 5 March 2019, the Council of the EU approved a new framework to screen foreign direct investments...
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EU agriculture update
Can European farmers be certain that a bottle of milk or a kilo of apples will remain more expensive than...
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Poland: IP law update
In Poland recently broad changes were brought about by the implementation of the EU Trademark Directive...
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Restructuring in the EU
The EU Parliament adopted the Directive on future 'Preventive Restructuring Frameworks', which creates the...
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FDI in the EU
On 10 April 2019, the EU framework for screening foreign direct investment (FDI) came into force, allowing...
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LIBOR update
The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), the most commonly used benchmark interest rate, will cease to...
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Croatia: Corporate law update
Croatia introduced significant changes to the Companies Act and the Court Register Act on 20 April 2019 with...
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Ukraine: 5G in 2020
On 17 May 2019, the President of Ukraine signed a decree launching 5G technology in the country. Under this...
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Czech Republic: Whistleblowing
In February 2019 the Ministry of Justice of the Czech Republic submitted a bill that aims to provide...
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Hungary: 5G update
On 17 June 2019, the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) published the draft...
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EU Regulation on online platforms
On 14 June 2019, the Council of the European Union approved the new Regulation on promoting fairness and...
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GDPR Update
Since the 25 May 2018 launch of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which provides for a...
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Ukraine: Film and television production
A long-awaited mechanism for compensation of TV and film production costs spent in Ukraine is to be...
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Romania: Tax update
The turnover limit for the calculation of the tax credit for sponsorships, patronage, and private scholarships...
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Bulgaria: Cannabis
Bulgarian legislation on the legal cultivation of cannabis makes for interesting reading. Some readers might...
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EU view on State Aid
The European Commission ordered a study on the enforcement of State aid rules and decisions by national courts...
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Serbia: Green fuels
Given the increased pollution levels and large quantities of municipal solid, commercial and industrial waste...
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Ukraine: Gambling update
On 8 August 2019, while speaking at the Ukrainian-Turkish business forum in Istanbul, Ukrainian President...
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Czech Republic: Competition update
The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition recently found two companies guilty of bid rigging in a...
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ECJ decision on Croatian loan agreements
In February of this year, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that Croatia cannot retroactively...
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Poland launches UBO registry
In March 2018, Poland introduced legislative change with respect to ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs). The...
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GDPR in the Czech Republic - a retrospective
Earlier in March of this year, the Czech Republic approved legislation incorporating the provisions of the...
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A look back at Poland and GDPR
Earlier in March of this year, the Polish GDPR supervisory authority issued its first decision, imposing an...
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Poland amends legislation on payment terms in commercial transactions
Poland has recently amended its legislation with respect to repayment obligations in commercial transactions...
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Bulgaria: Gas market changes
In the last few years, Bulgaria has made steady steps towards liberalization of its natural gas market and...
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Croatia: UBO Register deadline
In accordance with the 4th AML Directive, Croatia has instituted an obligation on all locally established legal...
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Romania: Companies must now declare UBOs
Romania has recently introduced an obligation requiring the declaration of beneficial owners for registration...
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Serbia: State Aid update
The new Serbian Act on State Aid Control has entered into force, with implementation commencing 1 January 2020...
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Romania: Financial institutions and outsourcing
The revised European Banking Authority Guidelines on outsourcing arrangements have recently come into force...
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Romanian energy update
Just recently, Romania's National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) adopted Order no. 202/2019, which endorsed...
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Romanian construction industry update
At the beginning of November, Romania enacted a series of reforms to its law on construction. Designed to...
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Slovenia passes bank bail-in legislation
Recently, Slovenia's parliament passed legislation on bank bail-in repayments under which the Bank of Slovenia...
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A note on definition of substance
Just recently in Bermuda (24 December 2019), both the Economic Substance Amendment Act 2019 and...
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Greece Tax Law Update
On 6 December 2019, the Greek Parliament passed into law reforms of the Greek tax code. Suspension, until 31 December...
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Romanian tax update
Please note a number of amendments included in Law no. 263/2019 on the amendment of Law 227/2015 regarding the Fiscal Code...
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Romanian tax update - VAT
Please note that there are a number of value added tax (VAT) amendments applicable as of the start of 2020, as follows...
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