Client Alert

"This reform is a necessity, and now it is irreversible. Europe`s directly elected parliamentarians have listened to European citizens and European businesses and, with this vote, have made clear that we need a uniform and strong European data protection law, which will make life easier for business and strengthen the protection of our citizens" - said Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU`s Justice Commissioner....

Der EuGH hat sich in einer kürzlich ergangenen Entscheidung mit der Wirkung von so genannten "freiwilligen ex ante-Transparenzbekanntmachungen" (in der Folge "Transparenzbekanntmachung") auseinandergesetzt....

At the end of 2014 the Bulgarian Patent Office (BPO) started providing new online services with respect to trademarks and industrial designs. The online platform was developed in collaboration with experts from the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (TradeMarks and Designs). This new platform aims to facilitate users of BPO services (e.g. official representatives, authors etc.) and to accelerate the filling process....

Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast) entered into force throughout the European Union on 10 January 2015. The new Regulation simplifies the recognition and enforcement by each European Member State of judgments made in another Member State. It also provides enhanced rules on exclusive jurisdiction clauses, related proceedings and the exclusion of arbitration from the scope of the Regulation....

On 13 January 2015 the Bulgarian Supreme Administrative Court ("SAC") dismissed an appeal by the shareholders of Corporate Commercial Bank AD ("CCB") against a decision of the Bulgarian National Bank ("BNB") terminating the company’s banking license, and thus triggering insolvency proceedings....

On 31 January 2015 the term for filing for the liquidation of companies that were not re-registered with the Bulgarian Commercial Register (CR) before 31 December 2011 expires. This deadline is important, first, for investors that hold shares in such companies that still have assets and, secondly, for the creditors of such companies....

ANRE Order no. 78/2014 on the approval of the Regulation for the execution of bilateral power purchase agreements via extended tender, continuous negotiation and processing contracts entered into force on 1 January 2015. As implied by its name, the Regulation provides for three different transaction methods for electricity trading....

New electricity trade regulations were put into force. Market participants that were already registered with the centralized market for bilateral electricity sale-purchase agreements will have to sign new participation conventions. This deadline for carrying out these formalities is set until 27 February 2015....

On 1 January 2015, the Austrian Act on the Recovery and Resolution of Banks entered into force. The BaSAG (Bundesgesetz über die Sanierung und Abwicklung von Banken - BaSAG) transposes the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) into national law which provides relevant resolution authorities with common tools and powers to address banking crises pre-emptively to ensure financial stability....

New deadlines for submitting mandatory pension insurance applications to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute The Pension Insurance Act (Official Gazette No. 157/13) was amended by an Ordinance of the Government of the Republic of Croatia (Official Gazette No. 151/14) effective 1 January 2015. The most significant change relates to the deadlines under which employers, as mandatory contribution payers, need to report the beginning of mandatory pension insurance for their employees to the Croatian Pension Insurance Institute (“HZMO”)....

Sprejeti pravilnik o internem sistemu prijave kršitev in naročiti programsko opremo, ki omogoča oddajo anonimnih kršitev, je relativno enostavno. Ko družba prejme prijavo internega žvižgača, ki po vrhu vsega zadeva celo njeno najvišje vodstvo, pa se začnejo zadeve lahko precej zapletati. Odmeven primer Barclays banke, o katerem so poročali številni mednarodni mediji, kaže, da se "lov na čarovnice" ne splača. To pa se prepreči le z vzpostavitvijo ustreznega sistema prijav kršitev....

A notable event on the Croatian financial market this year has been the financial turmoil around Agrokor d.d., the largest privately owned company in Croatia and one of the leading retailers and agricultural companies in Southeast Europe with over 60,000 employees and 30+ subsidiaries. The material parts of Agrokor's business are located in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina....