Client Alerts

A new requirement for traders of natural gas to obtain a license for natural gas trading activity in Bulgaria has been adopted. Prior to these newly introduced requirements, the natural gas trade in Bulgaria was not subject to licensing. Applicants for a natural gas trading license must prove to the Bulgarian Energy and Water Regulatory […]...

Nach Jahren zäher Verhandlungen und mehrerer Aufschübe ist es Ende Dezember 2020 doch noch zu einem Abkommen zwischen der Europäischen Union und dem – austrittswilligen – Vereinigten Königreich gekommen. Damit konnte der allgemein nicht gewünschte “harte Brexit” verhindert werden. Das Abkommen regelt seit dem 1.1.2021 die Beziehungen der EU mit dem nunmehrigen Drittstaat Vereinigtes Königreich. […]...

An amendment to the Business Corporations Act came into effect on 1 January 2021 in the Czech Republic. This amendment will result in substantial changes to the duties and obligations of corporations and their bodies. This update, Part II of our coverage, summarises the impact of the new regulation on companies and their shareholders. The […]...

As sustainability has rapidly established itself throughout many sectors, it is increasingly important for legal and corporate practitioners to understand the developments in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) landscape and to develop integrated ESG strategies that safeguard corporate reputation, mitigate risk and leverage opportunity. The broad scope of ESG is reflected in a multitude of laws and regulations. The International Comparative Legal Guide - Environmental, Social & Governance Law 2021 provides an overview of selected ESG related legal topics in Austria and Poland....

The Hungarian Parliament recently passed new legislation transposing the provisions of Directive (EU) 2019/2161 (“Directive“) on the better enforcement and modernisation of Union consumer protection rules, introducing widespread changes to currently effective Hungarian consumer protection laws. Both the Directive as well as the following Hungarian regulatory changes are a result of the efforts pursued by […]...

On 10 November 2020, the specific provisions on the Austrian Compliance Package     (§ 5a of the Act on the Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners – WiEReG) came into force. Legal entities through professional representatives may now voluntarily submit certain documents to the Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners which will be stored electronically in a “package” […]...

Shareholder activism remains a prominent, and likely permanent, feature of the global corporate landscape. Recent activism-related trends indicate that the Austrian corporate landscape is shifting, and companies’ strategies for dealing with activism should therefore also evolve. Sarah Wared's contribution deals as a primer on these aspects of shareholder activism in Austria....

An amendment to the Czech Business Corporations Act will come into effect on 1 January 2021. This amendment will result in substantial changes to the duties and obligations of corporations and their bodies. This update, Part 1, relates to the impact on the position of members of executive bodies. Part II, which will be released […]...

As a result of recently enacted COVID19-related legislation in Slovenia, referred to as “ZIUOPDVE”, companies are now permitted to carry out general meetings without the requirement of the physical presence of shareholders or their proxies. Shareholders can participate by electronic means or the general meeting can be held virtually. This applies for general meetings convoked […]...

On 26 November 2020, Romania adopted new technical rules on minimum requirements to ensure the security of network and information systems applicable to operators of essential services. The technical rules establish four security areas: governance, defence, cybersecurity and resilience. Operators of essential services must comply with the technical rules within 6 months of the date […]...

A November 2020 judgment of the Slovenian Administrative Court, confirming a previous decision of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality, ruled that the widespread practice of tying the amounts of business performance bonuses to employees’ presence at work is discriminatory. The reasoning of the Advocate stems from the Protection Against Discrimination Act, which prohibits […]...

The CJEU recently ruled that the intermediation service offered by Airbnb Ireland is an “information society service” in the light of the E-Commerce Directive. We have summarised the decision in our Client Alert, especially since it contains interesting aspects for the differentiation of an information society service from the underlying overall service (e.g. the intermediation […]...