Client Alerts
Romania: Wolf Theiss contributes to the release of two new reports on GDPR for the CPC platform
Wolf Theiss together with other qualified legal professionals from more than 30 European countries, contributed to the release of two new reports on GDPR for the CPC network, the largest European information platform explaining data protection laws....
Poland adjusted over 150 Polish sectoral acts to GDPR
On 3 April 2019, the President of Poland signed the Act of 21 February 2019 on amending certain acts in connection with ensuring the application of the GDPR (the "Act"). The Act amends over 150 sectoral acts, including the Tax Ordinance, the Public Procurement Law, the Investment Funds Act, the Payment Services Act and the Telecommunications Law. However, some of the most noticeable changes were introduced to the Labour Code and to the Banking Law....
Poland has imposed the first fine for infringement of GDPR
On 15 March 2019, the Polish supervisory authority issued the first decision imposing an administrative fine in the amount of PLN 943,000 (approx. EUR 220,000) for the infringement of the information obligation stipulated in Article 14 of the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) (the "GDPR")....
EU Parliament approves controversial EU copyright law directive
On 26 March 2019, after three years of negotiation, the EU Parliament voted in favor of the full implementation of the draft Directive on the harmonization of copyright in the "Digital Single Market" (Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market (COM(2016)0593 - C8-0383/2016 - 2016/0280(COD)). The aim of the Directive, which despite considerable concerns and Europe-wide protests was ultimately accepted by a narrow majority, is to ensure fairer remuneration to authors for the use of their works on the Internet, particularly on major platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Google-News....
Austria: encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement
Directive (EU) 2017/828 as regards the encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement (the "Directive") to be implemented in Austria until 10 June 2019 aims to create a more attractive environment for shareholders and to improve corporate governance for companies the shares of which are admitted to trading within a Member State....
Liberalization of cultivation and production of medicinal cannabis in Croatia
On 25 April 2019 the Amendments to the Act on Combating Drugs Abuse entered into force which liberalizes the cultivation and production of low THC cannabis for medicinal purposes in Croatia. With the new law going into effect, companies which have a manufacturing authorization for drugs or active substances from the Croatian Agency for Medicinal […]...
Amendments to the Croatian companies act
New amendments to the Croatian Companies Act entered into force on 20 April 2019. The aim of the amendments is easier and more efficient incorporation and termination of limited liability companies and simple limited liability companies along with the implementation of the Shareholders Directive....
Brexit – Amendments to the Bulgarian immigration law
As part of the Bulgarian government’s measures to prepare for Brexit, a Bill for amendment to the Foreigners in the Republic of Bulgaria Act (“the Bill”) was adopted by the Bulgarian Parliament on 12 April 2019 and published in the State Gazette on 23 April 2019. The Bill addresses post-Brexit rights of UK nationals in […]...
Romania: Labour law amendments – Additional annual leave for In vitro fertilization
Governmental Emergency Ordinance no. 26/2019 entered into force on 23 April 2019 bringing changes to the Romanian Labour Code. Concerned by the low and decreasing birth rate in Romania, and by the fact that on average only 5,000 in vitro fertilizations are performed annually, the Government decided to introduce a new type of paid leave […]...
Bulgaria – Further liberalisation of the electricity market at production level
New draft bill amending the Energy Act introduces a number of measures to further integrate RES Generation into the liberalised market and abolish Energy Export Fees On 22 March 2019, a new draft Bill for the amendment and supplementation of the Energy Act (“Bill”) was introduced by MPs from the governing political party. The Bill […]...
Cartel damages claims: European Commission guidelines to estimate the passing-on of harm caused by cartels
The number of cartel damages claims before national civil courts in Europe has dramatically increased over recent years. The Damages Directive (2014/104/EU) and its implementation into national law have removed a number of obstacles faced by the alleged victims claiming cartel damages before national courts....
Poland: Administrative proceedings are becoming digitalized
On May 31, a new legal institution in Polish procedural law came into force. The main goal of the modifications is to further digitalize proceedings. These changes could be a positive development for the judiciary, but on the other hand, they could be viewed as negative, as certain legal constructions can generate very serious problems and threaten the interests of the parties involved....