Following the adoption of the GDPR, an important new element was brought into Romania’s legal framework – the required designation of a Data Protection Officer (DPO), which is mandatory in some cases.
Financial Restructuring and Consolidation in the Hotel Sector in CEE
Few global industries have been as strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as the hotel industry. All over the world, chains and bespoke hoteliers have had to face the impact of travel restrictions on bookings, in most cases leading to dire falls in occupancy rates and, subsequently, income. Now that the pandemic has been wreaking havoc for over a year, how is the hotel industry in CEE coping, and what options do hoteliers have? We spoke with three CMS Partners – Ana Radnev, Gregor Famira, and Lukas Hejduk – to get their opinions on the current situation and outlook on the future of the sector.
Values Added: Interview with Doru Toma of the Leaders for Justice Program in Romania
Doru Toma, Project Manager of Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s Leaders for Justice program, provides insight into the program’s values, goals, and structure.
In a League (Table) of Their Own: A Look at Baltic Firms’ Volume of Client Matters
Regional periodical league tables ranking M&A activity through the lens of the law firms advising on the deals are often dominated by Baltic law firms, with the CEELM Index special issue of the CEE Legal Matters magazine reflecting the same trend. To better understand why that is so, we spoke with several Partners – from both Baltic firms and other CEE jurisdictions.
Deal 5: Vimetco Group Legal Director Dragos Voncu on ALRO USD 40 Million Loan
On July 7, 2021, CEE Legal Matters reported that Zamfirescu Racoti Vasile & Partners and Simmons & Simmons had advised ALRO on a seven-year USD 40 million corporate loan from the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank to Romanian aluminum producer ALRO, part of Vimetco Group, for its capital investment program. CEE In-House Matters spoke with Dragos Voncu, Legal Director at the Vimetco Group, to learn more about the matter.
The Romanian Corporate Income Tax Grouping – Now up and Running
Starting this August, the fiscal unity system concerning the corporate income tax becomes functional in Romania, further to the enactment of the procedure for the implementation and management of such system through Order no. 1191 issued on August 6, 2021 by the National Agency for Fiscal Administration.
The Curious Case of the Romanian Thematic Tax Audit Campaign Related to Gift Vouchers
Two years ago the Romanian anti-fraud and tax authorities took the Romanian business environment by surprise, by initiating a thematic tax audit campaign aimed at auditing the tax treatment of purchased gift vouchers, in terms of income tax and social security charges. A very sought after extra-salary employee benefit, companies bought and offered gift vouchers amounting to over RON 1 billion (approx. EUR 200 million) in 2018 alone.
Romania: Profit tax consolidation in Romania gets the go-ahead
Following the adoption of regulations allowing profit tax consolidation in late 2020, the Romanian tax authorities issued Order 1191/2021 approving the instructions for implementing and managing Profit Tax Groups (“PTGs”) on 6 August 2021.
Enacting Telemedicine in Romania
Not all the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Romanian society are negative. The crisis also led to the much-overdue regulation of telemedicine in Romania.
Stricter Rules for the Promotion of Medical Devices in Romania
[Updated on 8 July 2021] Further to the entry into force of EU Medical Devices Regulation 2017/745 on May 26 2021, the Romanian Government issued an Emergency Ordinance setting forth the institutional framework for ensuring the MDR’s direct application (“GEO no. 46/2021”) and announced that the Ministry of Health will issue the secondary legislation in the following months.
Expat on the Market: Interview with Gianluca Carlesso of The Carlesso Law Firm
An interview with Gianluca Carlesso of The Carlesso Law Firm, about his path from Italy to Romania.
Romanian Company Law Restrictions For Intra-group Guarantees or Intra-group Lending
Intra-group loans and guarantees are frequently encountered in the activity of group companies, especially when centralized capital and liquidity management systems are in place. Intra-group loans are often used as tools to maximize liquidity at the group level while reducing the cost of funds, while the guarantees provide group companies with better access to external financing or high-value commercial contracts.
Romanian Businesses and the GDPR – Has COVID-19 Changed the Rules of the Game?
Needless to say, the COVID-19 pandemic has been extremely challenging for organizations worldwide, both experienced and start-ups. The new reality has also compelled a vast majority of entrepreneurs in Romania to quickly adapt to a new economic context – significantly impacting the data protection domain.
Shareholders Agreements – Important Points to be Considered from an Investor Perspective
A shareholders’ agreement, also referred to as a stockholders’ agreement, is, as indicated in its title, an agreement concluded by and between the shareholders and, often, the company itself.
Stock Option Plans: A Modern Retention Tool Encouraged by Law
The modern mentality concerning the relationship between employers and employees has led to the creation of mechanisms aimed at increasing the loyalty of the latter. One such mechanism that has become very popular in recent years is the Stock Option Plan.
Post-Pandemic Rebound – Boards Taking the Lead in Financial Restructuring
We are now one year on from the first lockdown, and although many worried in the early days of the pandemic that Romania’s court system might not be able to cope with the large number of insolvencies that were expected, in fact the highly-anticipated wave of restructurings is yet to happen, as the debt moratorium which was enacted and then extended and the availability of the state aid package as well as the generally supportive approach of the lenders have helped companies manage their debt service and need for liquidity. While there is no shortage of funding, the uncertainty of the lockdown period and its impact on future developments have resulted in more amend-and-increase or amend-and-extend transactions, with borrowers adding to their existing lender groups rather than seeking a full refinancing.
New Perspectives, Same Challenges: A Snapshot of Some Conflict of Law Issues in Cross-Border Employment Contracts
From an economic and social point of view, throughout Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic period could be summarized in two words: digitalization and flexibility. These words were also key to employment matters, with a tendency for both employers and employees to be more open to establishing cross-border employment relationships, switching to remote work performed from a different EU Member States or, in case of expatriates, returning to their country of origin while continuing to work remotely for the same employer.