Client Alert

Under the current legal situation regarding cross-border business transactions, operators of online shops must provide individual platforms for each EU member state to fulfill all specific national legal requirements. Notwithstanding the technical capabilities of the internet today, it is still not possible to provide just one general online shop for the whole European area. According to the "Flash Eurobarometer 396, 2015" survey, 39% of businesses selling online but not cross-border quote different national contract laws as one of the main obstacles to cross-border sales....

On 30 June 2017, the Croatian Parliament adopted extensive amendments to the existing Foreigners Act in order to implement relevant EU legislation and clarify certain provisions subject to different interpretation in practice....

Auf Grund des Vorwurfs illegaler Preisabsprachen finden derzeit bei etlichen österreichischen Bauunternehmen Hausdurchsuchungen durch die Wirtschafts- und Korruptionsstaatsanwaltschaft bzw das Bundesamt zur Korruptionsprävention und Korruptionsbekämpfung sowie die Bundeswettbewerbsbehörde statt. Bereits diese Erhebungen bzw die daraus resultierenden Vorwürfe können – für sich alleine – vergaberechtliche Konsequenzen wie den Ausschluss des jeweiligen Unternehmens von laufenden Vergabeverfahren (aufgrund des Verlustes der beruflichen Zuverlässigkeit) nach sich ziehen (etwa wenn aus Sicht eines öffentlichen Auftraggebers eine "schwere berufliche Verfehlung" festgestellt wurde; einer rechtskräftigen Verurteilung bedarf es dazu nicht)....

Developers initially claimed that the government’s concerns about the market were misplaced and its pro-consumer approach would negatively influence their business. Experts differed, however, emphasizing that the lack of specific regulations was not only harmful for consumers but was also an exception among European legal systems. Prior to the Developers Act, when a developer was declared bankrupt consumers had to stand in the line of regular creditors and wait years for reimbursement (usually only a part) of their invested funds....

Following the initiative of several consumer organizations, and based on allegations that the constitutional order has been disrupted by the lending operations of unauthorized foreign lenders, the Croatian Parliament unanimously passed the Act on Nullity of Loan Agreements with International Elements Concluded in the Republic of Croatia with Unauthorized Lenders ("Act") which entered into force on 29 July 2017. The Act has already been labelled as controversial for its retroactive effect and Croatia seems to continue down the path started by the 2015 amendments to the Consumer Credit Act forcing a retroactive conversion of CHF denominated loans....

On 16 February 2016, the European Commission officially presented the new Energy Security Package, which aims at increasing the role of the EC in the energy sector by introducing a series of changes....

Since the digital age began, models for computing the rent for retail spaces have remained basically unchanged: lease agreements provide for a base rent while high-traffic locations as in, for example, shopping centres, provide an additional component dependent on revenue....

Ukrainian competition law currently lacks guidance on various legal questions, including vertical restraints; legal uncertainty exists even with regard to clauses regularly used in distribution agreements in other jurisdictions. It is therefore a welcome development that the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (the "AMC") is working on a draft Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (the "Draft Regulation"). It is doing so in view of the requirements under the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union....

On 25 April 2017, important changes ("Amendments") to Austrian competition law entered into force - a number of changes will enter into force at different times....

By 2016, interest rates set by the European Central Bank reached historic lows. For this reason, a mortgage loan has become a more common way of financing the purchase of real estate. However, it is to be expected that, at some point, the current interest rates will be subject to alteration. Consequently, mortgage loan agreements usually contain a provision authorizing the bank to unilaterally increase the respective interest rate. Hence, it is particularly significant that one of the most frequently used banking products on the Slovak market is the mortgage with variable interest rates, with their possible fixation during the subsequent 3-5 year period....

OVERVIEW With the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2017/1128 on the cross-border portability of online content services in the Union ("Portability-Regulation"), a major step towards abolishing geo-blocking in Europe was taken. The new Regulation will make online services even more attractive for consumers and together with the abolition of roaming charges which already entered into force on 15 June 2017, it is one of the objectives of the digital single market strategy to create a truly internal market for digital content and services....

The New Law Aims at Protecting Entities against the Negative Effects of Insolvency by their Majority Owners...