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PRK Partners, working with Norton Rose Fulbright, has advised Euro Manganese on receiving funding from Orion Resource Partners for the development and construction of a manganese mining project in the Czech Republic.

Binder Groesswang has advised the Hannover Finanz private equity investor on its acquisition of a stake in Peak Technology as part of a EUR 10 million growth financing transaction. Summereder Pichler Waechter advised Peak and its CEO, Dieter Grebner.

Djingov Gouginski Kyutchukov and Velichkov, working with Kennedy Van der Laan, has advised OTP Bank and DSK Bank on a EUR 30 million financing for AES Geo Energy. Spasov & Bratanov advised AES Geo.

Nedelka Kubac Advokati has helped EPEI in obtaining merger control clearance for its acquisition of the French Casino retail group.

BPV Huegel has advised the investors and the management on their sale of the majority stake in EYYES to Germany-based Vector Informatik.

Wardynski & Partners has advised SUSI Partners on its financing of the decarbonization services provided by ESCOlight to Ghelamco's Warsaw Unit skyscraper.

Kinstellar has advised The Associated Press on the production of 20 Days in Mariupol, a feature-length documentary about the brutal Russian invasion and devastation of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in 2022.

Reed Smith has advised PPC Renewables subsidiary Phoebe Energy on a EUR 294.4 million financing from the EU, Eurobank, and Piraeus Bank for the construction and operation of a 550-megawatt solar photovoltaic project in Western Macedonia. Karatzas & Partners advised Eurobank and Piraeus Bank.

Dentons and Boyanov & Co have advised UniCredit Bulbank, Raiffeisen Bank International, the United Bulgarian Bank, and Eurobank Bulgaria on the financing for the construction and operation of a 160-megawatt solar plant in Maglizh, in the Stara Zagora region of Bulgaria. Stoeva Tchompalov & Znepolski reportedly advised the borrowers.

Moravcevic Vojnovic and Partners, in cooperation with Schoenherr, has advised Alstom Transport on the execution of a consulting agreement for the construction of the Belgrade metro.

Wolf Theiss has advised the Toms Group on a multi-partner power purchase agreement in Poland with Better Energy and Eesti Energia Group subsidiary Enefit.

CMS has advised mBank on the PLN 42 million financing for Zemportic Investments' acquisition of Polska Grupa Bruno-Tassi. Baker McKenzie advised Zemportic Investments. Wardynski & Partners advised a consortium of banks financing Polska Grupa Bruno-Tassi. MJH Moskwa Jarmul Haladyj and Forton Legal advised Bruno-Tassi.

Former Alacergold Madencilik General Counsel Ahmet Ilker Dogan has returned to private practice as a Senior Managing Partner with Tunca Attorney Partnership in Ankara.

Tallinn's Rask law firm has announced it signed a strategic cooperation agreement with environmental consulting firm Hendrikson DGE to offer the best possible service to clients based on a "unique combination of information and experience [resulting from] the daily interaction of our specialists."

Former Getir Senior Legal Counsel Gizem Taskin Tavli has joined Domino's Turkiye as Head of Legal.

Former Ozbay & Okumus Partner Enes Said Okumus has joined Oker Legal in Istanbul as a Partner.

Olga Vorozhbyt has joined Sayenko Kharenko as a Partner and will focus on helping the firm handle cross-border disputes and large-scale investigations, including ones related to FCPA rules.

Former Deloitte Legal Partners Ryszard Manteuffel and Robert Semczuk have joined the CMS Corporate/M&A practice in Poland as a Partner and a Counsel, respectively.

Former Glimstedt Managing Partner Solveiga Vilcinskaite Paleviciene has joined TGS Baltic as a Partner.

Former ODI Law Partner and Head of Transactions Suzana Boncina Jamsek has launched BJK Law, a specialist boutique law firm in Ljubljana.

Former Managing Associate Furkan Sahankaya has been appointed to a Partner position in the Insurance/Reinsurance department of the Durukan Law Firm in Istanbul.

Cerha Hempel has announced it is expanding into Slovenia through a new cooperation with Ulcar & Partnerji as of March 1, 2024.

Former Eversheds Sutherland Partner Carolina Baloleanu has joined Nyerges & Partners in Bucharest as a Counsel to advise on banking/finance and M&A matters.

Former BPV Braun Partners Partner Marc Mueller has joined PwC Legal in the Czech Republic as a Senior Attorney.

In public procurement, the term bid rigging (also called collusive tendering) describes unlawful agreements between bidders with the intention of distorting the competition in award procedures and allowing a preferred tenderer to win the public contract while giving the impression that the process is truly competitive. The hidden agenda is often to force a high contract price that is not appropriate given the state of the market.

The President of Ukraine has officially signed Law No. 3528-IX “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine Regarding the State Regulation of Cannabis Plants for Use in Educational Purposes, Educational, Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activities, drugs production, Psychotropic Substances and medicinal products with the aim of increasing patients’ access to the necessary treatment” simply known as the law on cannabis legalisation (the “Medical Cannabis Law”). The Medical Cannabis Law sets forth regulations governing the use of cannabis for educational, scientific, and medical purposes.

This Section includes information on legal acts implementing new rules or amendments, published in the Official Journal of the Republic of Moldova, referring to corporate, employment, social, taxation, customs, environment, and other matters. This Section also includes draft legislation of any direct or indirect relevance to the Company; as well as the temporary legislative measures approved pursuant to the state of emergency in the Republic of Moldova.

Earlier this month, Bulgaria’s Competition Protection Commission (CPC) unveiled its strategic priorities for 2024, identifying sectors and activities that warrant increased regulatory scrutiny. These priorities will guide the CPC’s operational functions, which include market monitoring, signal verification, the initiation of administrative proceedings, market investigations, and ongoing enforcement actions.

Having a somewhat steady Government and Parliament since mid-2023 has led to more predictability in the Bulgarian regulatory environment for renewables. In October 2023, some important and significant changes to the RES Act entered into force, thus solidifying local support for renewable energy.

The Bulgarian Parliament adopted amendments to the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act (CNRA) in December 2023 to transpose the Digital Single Market Directive (EU) 2019/ 790 and the CabSat Directive (EU) 2019/789

Deal activity (both in terms of value and volume) dropped at the end of 2023 and the start of 2024. This is hardly surprising considering the overall unstable international environment and the variety of destabilizing factors at play. Regardless, we see signs of recovery.

Following a long period of political instability, including five snap parliamentary elections in the past couple of years, as of June 2023, Bulgaria has a broad coalition government supported by a large parliamentary majority.

It has started humbly, but 2024 is expected to be a year of interesting political developments. At a global level, there will be elections for the President of the United States and for the European Parliament. At a local level, in Bulgaria, a rotation of the government is expected, which means that, according to the preliminary agreements between the governing parties, the position of the Prime Minister will be taken by Mariya Gabriel (of the GERB party; currently at the position of Deputy Prime Minister), who will replace the current Prime Minister – Nikolay Denkov (of the We Continue the Change party) – in March. For now, it is still questionable whether this switch will trigger the termination of the mandate of some of the ministers.

Galloping inflation and post-COVID-19 challenges are shaping the litigation market in Austria, with an unparalleled volume of insolvencies feeding into a high rate of litigation. Meanwhile, the Austrian government remains hesitant to implement the European collective redress system.

Internal investigations continue to be a crucial part of a robust compliance management system. Short messages exchanged on smartphones have become a significant source for internal as well as external investigations. The Austrian prosecution authority understands that screening smartphones is close to “manna from heaven” for any investigator. This Market Snapshot reports on two important developments in Austria: a constitutional court decision requiring a significant change of the law, and the impact of the newly implemented law for the protection of whistleblowers.

On November 1, 2023, the amendment to the Slovenian Insolvency Act (ZFPPIPP-H) entered into force and introduced a series of significant changes that should not be overlooked.

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With a keen eye on the evolving dynamics of entrepreneurship and law in Romania, Alex Teodorescu – a former Olympian and the Founder and Managing Partner of Teodorescu Partners – offers a fresh perspective on business and investing, the entrepreneurial spirit within the legal profession, and some noteworthy recent regulatory developments.

CMS Poland Managing Partner Andrzej Posniak and CMS Croatia Partner Tamara Jelic Kazic discuss the complexities and opportunities inherent to the region’s tax landscape.

In The Inside Track, General Counsels across CEE share the nuances of their roles, challenges, and strategies for success. Since now is the time when plans for next year are made (and budgeted for) this time we asked GCs: Is your in-house legal function’s budget increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same in 2024?

On November 23, CEE Legal Matters reported that Cobalt had advised BaltCap Latvia Venture Capital Fund and funds managed by Imprimatur Capital, together with other shareholders, on the sale of Blue Bridge Technologies to Everfield. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Henning Schreiber, Head of Acquisitions at Everfield, to learn more about the acquisition.