In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and keep our readers apprised of the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas.

While the business landscape is well-acquainted with the established Merger Control regime (MC), characterized by extensive practice and ongoing efforts by the Competition Council to streamline processes, attention must also be directed towards two additional control regimes that have been implemented: the investment control regime and the subsidy control regime.

Allen & Overy has advised Grupa Archicom on its joint venture with Rank Progress to develop a new residential project in Wroclaw.

Today, more and more companies are trying to convince consumers with the pretence of a sustainable future and environmental awareness. However, in many cases, there is no real responsibility behind such marketing activities, which are simply intended as an effective advertising ploy to make green claims.

Due to the holiday season and the legislative dumping at the end of the year, the important new milestone in the ESG field did not receive much publicity, even though Act CVIII of 2023, the ESG Act, which is the first comprehensive Hungarian regulation in the field, entered into force as of January 1, 2024. The field, which until now has mostly been covered by EU sources of law and in one Hungarian law, has finally ceased to be a stepchild and has been given the first comprehensive and unified law, which the legislator himself named the ESG Act.

As background, in December 2022, the EU Council adopted the policy programme ‘Path to the Digital Decade’, aiming to facilitate a seamless transition to digital transformation by 2030, aligning with EU values. This program sets specific digital targets for EU countries to achieve by 2030, including the development of national trajectories and strategic roadmaps to enhance digital infrastructure's security, accessibility, and sustainability. Notably, a key focus area of the EU digital strategy is digital services.

Act Legal has advised Doosan Skoda Power on executing an EPC agreement with Orlen. SSW Pragmatic Solutions advised Orlen. The total value of the project exceeds EUR 125 million.

In a significant development, a provisional agreement between the Council presidency and the European Parliament has set the stage for a proposed EU law targeting businesses involved in waste generation, operation, or disposal. The agreement, which took place late last year, reflects a commitment to stricter penalties for environmental crimes, doubling the number of offences from the soon-to-be-replaced Directive 2008/99/EC.

Former Counsels Andrei Croitoru and Iustina Oblu have been appointed as Partners with Act Botezatu Estrade Partners.

Kondracki Celej has advised the shareholders and management of Skriware on the full sale of the company to Shape Robotics. Act Legal BSWW reportedly advised on the sale as well.

Act Legal Botezatu Estrade Partners has recently announced it welcomed a nine-person team from Consortium Legal – including Partners Stelian Mic, Barna Bolonyi, and Valeriu Timus – in "a friendly integration and a strategic step forward."

What regulatory changes can issuers expect? For the Polish capital market, recent years have been quite intense, primarily in terms of amendments to regulations, both domestic and EU. The most significant changes in these regulations can be expected at the end of 2023.

Welcome to the captivating field of lawyering in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), where challenges and opportunities intertwine in an ever-changing landscape. With over 24 years of experience, I have had a front-row seat to witness the remarkable journey of the legal profession in this region. In this article, I’ll share my personal reflections on lawyering in CEE, discussing its progress, setbacks, and the exciting trends that have shaped its course.

With ESG having been a buzzword in the Czech real estate market for a few years now, Clifford Chance Partner Emil Holub, Kocian Solc Balastik Partner Jiri Hornik, VIDD Partner Ondrej Hampl, Taylor Wessing Counsel Radka Nenickova, and Act Legal Czech Republic Partner Tomas Slaby look at how ESG principles are being applied in practice and in what areas there is still room for improvement.

What is corporate crime prevention and why is it a necessary "cost"? Depending on the industry in which a company operates in Romania, it is subject to legal obligations whose violation can result in legal liability.

The regulation of artificial intelligence (AI) is not a new issue. We understand that the use of such technologies can bring many benefits - such as better healthcare, safer and cleaner transport system, more efficient production, or cheaper and more sustainable energy - but we also are aware that they can pose significant risks if not properly regulated.

Act Legal has advised Nimbus on the sale of the RAMPF Group to an undisclosed German investment company. Maynard Nexsen and Cornet Vincent Segurel reportedly advised Nimbus as well.

Since the beginning of this year, the Personal Data Protection Office has issued fines of almost CZK 4,500,000 for breaches of the GDPR in connection with the processing of personal data via cookies.