It has been an interesting, fruitful, and innovative year for the Turkish financial sector. Most importantly and possibly surprisingly, the Turkish financial regulatory authorities are at full speed in implementing a legal framework to support a more sustainable Turkey.

Environmental sustainability is essential to mitigate the risks of climate change. In order to promote this and develop a green economy, it is essential to secure adequate financing from the private sector. To this end, banks have started making available financial products for environmentally sustainable purposes.

There are specific foreign exchange (FX) restrictions set out in Serbian legislation. The FX rules envisage mandatory requirements with respect to cross-border loans, guarantees, assignment and set-off of cross-border claims and debt, the opening of bank accounts abroad, etc. As FX restrictions affect various aspects of transactions between Serbian residents and foreign parties, they are frequently a tumbling stone in cross-border transactions.

According to Ibrahimovic & Co Managing Partner Adi Ibrahimovic, “the EU’s engagement with Bosnia and Herzegovina has gone through sporadic periods of intensifying cooperation and uncertain situations,” leading Dimitrijevic & Partners Partner Davorin Marinkovic to summarize the current status as: “frankly speaking, the public perception is that nobody actually knows.”

At the end of each year, business development and marketing specialists across the globe are busy identifying strategies and components to plan an annual marketing budget. Accordingly, this time around, given the season, we asked Law Firm Marketing experts across the CEE region a question: Which metrics do you look at when planning your marketing budget?

CEE Legal Matters spoke with CMS Partner and Head of Environmental Law Practice in Poland and CEE Agnieszka Skorupinska and CMS Turkey Managing Partner Done Yalcin about the impacts of the EU Green Deal and the rise of ESG in Europe and beyond.

While real estate is turning heads, according to CMS Partner Michal Miecinski, tax hikes and high inflation might present cause for concern in Poland, heading into 2022.

On June 9, 2021, the Slovak Supreme Court finally ended its long-running proceedings against Slovak Telekom (ST). The case involved a more than EUR 17 million fine against ST for the abuse of a dominant position and resulted in an important decision regarding the application of the ne bis in idem principle in Slovak law.

North Macedonia introduced its first competition law in 1999, however, the law that is now applicable was adopted in 2010. With this law, North Macedonia brought its harmonization of competition rules with the EU acquis closer.

When in September 2020 the Slovenian government decided that price control measures in the fuel products market were no longer necessary and fully liberalized the market, one of the expected benefits was a positive impact on the price competition.

Earlier this year, the start-up scene in Croatia picked up speed with the Rimac Automobili – Bugatti deal. The burgeoning Croatian manufacturer, which focuses on constructing electric hypercars, struck a deal with global automotive giant Bugatti, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, to form a joint venture for the production of next-generation supercars.

“The pandemic has made everyone aware of the critical need to digitalize their business – irrespective of their industry,” explains CMS CEE Managing Director Dora Petranyi. “With the rise in digitalization, not just in business, but even in our daily lives, we also see an increased awareness of the importance, and impact, of the infrastructure that supports these digital trends.” And this increased awareness of the importance of the infrastructure being used is complemented by the pandemic drawing people’s attention to climate change as well, with Petranyi noting: “We all saw many maps of various regions of the world suddenly becoming cleaner and cleaner as the lockdowns were being implemented – it was only natural for it to emphasize the link between human activity and its impact on the environment.”

In view of the upcoming parliamentary elections competition among the political parties is intensifying, while the Slovenian economy struggles to recover, according to CMS Partner Ales Lunder.

Digital nomads, cyber risk insurance, and an ever-growing energy sector – these are the hottest topics in Montenegro right now, according to CMS Partner Milica Popovic.

On October 7, six leading labor lawyers in Hungary sat down for a virtual round table moderated by CEE Legal Matters Managing Editor Radu Cotarcea. The conversation focused on the current state of affairs of labor regulations in Hungary and their evolution over the pandemic-marked last few months.

An interview with Tristan O’Connor of CMS, about his path from Australia to Czech Republic.

An interview with Jean-Francois Marquaire of CMS, about his path from France to Russia.

Despite the severe damage inflicted by COVID-19 on the Russian economy, the government and businesses have agreed that the local IT sector needs state incentives and support. Calls for accelerated development and state support for the local IT sector were among the main messages of several state agencies when the Russian president and government announced a series of tax benefits for the IT industry.