On 20 October 2023, the National Agency for Administration and Regulation in Communications (“ANCOM”) and the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitalization submitted for public consultation the draft law establishing the national legislative measures necessary to implement the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2022/2065 of the European Parliament and of the Council on a Single Market for Digital Services and amending Directive 2000/31/EC (“DSA Regulation”) in Romania.

The past few months in Serbia have seen significant public attention focused on two media laws: the Law on Public Information and Media and the Law on Electronic Media. Various opinions have been expressed, with the government of the Republic of Serbia, specifically the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information, as the formal proposer of these contentious amendments, while independent journalist associations have taken the opposite stance. On October 26, 2023, the National Assembly passed and adopted these amendments. Less than a decade after significant changes, these two crucial media laws have come under scrutiny to align with international standards of freedom of expression.

The world has seen a significant shift towards sustainable energy sources in recent years. One of the most promising and rapidly growing sectors in the renewable energy industry is offshore wind parks. These structures that use the power of wind over the open seas are quickly gaining popularity as part of the global effort to combat climate change. This article will explore the global trend of offshore wind parks and shed light on Montenegro's potential in this eco-friendly energy source with a special focus on fixed-bottom wind parks.

The recent amendments to the Code of Commercial Companies (CCC) introduced on September 15, 2023, have prompted a review of the Polish Tax Ordinance System Act, stemming from concerns raised by tax advisers regarding potential discrepancies in the tax laws that may lead to interpretational disputes between taxpayers and authorities.

Many might be surprised these days, but when Lithuania joined the EU in 2004, it was an electricity exporter, producing more energy than it consumed. The Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant was operational, and Lithuanian consumers were unaware of potential concerns over electricity prices.

The regulatory framework of the Lithuanian labor market underwent several important updates. Most of these developments are concerned with regulating labor migration.

Lithuania’s intellectual property (IP) market is active in the area of trademarks and copyright, with businesses and creators starting to understand the value of IP protection. This trend does not yet extend to patents, but trade secrets are a highly litigated area, and their protection is broader than ever.

The rules on the order for payment order procedure have changed significantly as of 1 October 2023. Many of the changes are related to the simplification and digitalisation of the procedure.

The draft of the new Hungarian Construction Act was recently published for public consultation. Although the act only lays down the general rules, and details will be laid down in other regulations that are not yet known, several new features can already be seen in the draft. In our short article we summarise a few important changes.

From January 1, 2024, the general VAT rate will increase from 20 percent to 22 percent.

When we consider the validity of a contract on the basis of the parties' will, it is usually the will at the time of the conclusion of the contract that is relevant. In a recent decision, however, the Supreme Court of Hungary has pointed out that in the case of a long-lasting legal relationship, such as an employment relationship, the parties' actions after the conclusion of the contract in order to perform it must also be taken into account when determining the contractual intention.

Presently, a legislative proposal has been placed on the agenda, focusing on measures aimed at streamlining governmental operations. This comprehensive proposal encompasses various modifications, one of which pertains to an amendment to the personal income tax act (“PIT Act”).

The Republic of Serbia and the People’s Republic of China officially signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on 17 October 2023.

The concept of a digital workplace, characterized as an employment environment allowing employees to complete tasks, collaborate, and function as part of a team, irrespective of location, has been around for some time but has gained significant traction in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. This surge in popularity can be substantially attributed to the measures enacted by the Macedonian Government to mitigate the impact of COVID-19.

The forthcoming Consumers' Rights Protection Law ("Law") in Ukraine, scheduled to take effect on 7 July 2024 (contingent on the cancellation of martial law in Ukraine), is poised to harmonize Ukrainian consumer protection legislation with key EU norms. This new Law aims to modernize consumer protection requirements, especially in the e-commerce context.

In one of our previous texts (available here) we discussed misdemeanors, hence in order to analyze in more detail legislator’s penalty policy pertaining to legal entities we will here elaborate the economic offences which, along with criminal acts and misdemeanors, also fall into the penalty corpus of our legal system.

A package called “Provisions on further simplification of the functioning of the state” has been discussed at the Hungarian Parliament in the autumn of 2023.

The Polish government has presented detailed conditions and modalities for providing support to investment projects of strategic importance for the transition to a net-zero-emission economy. The new State aid instrument implements the EU programme “Temporary Crisis Framework for State Aid measures to support the economy following the aggression against Ukraine by Russia”. The new financial support is to be regarded as a further incentive effect to attract new investments to Poland.