- Home
- News & Insights
Search by
Latest
Competition Law Update
Recent developments in competition law in the CEE-SEE region. Czech Republic The Czech Office for Protection of Competition again fines telecoms operator for abuse of dominance on the market for telecom services for business customers The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition has fined Telefónica for offering customers discounts and other benefits in exchange for entering into a contract with a limited possibility to terminate. According to the Office, the practice constituted an abuse of a dominant position on the market for public telecom services for businesses provided via public fixed telecom networks. The Office increased a fine imposed in its original decision which was later annulled by
2012 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index: No celebration yet for Emerging Europe
– Transparency International (TI) released its 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) this week. The 2012 CPI surveys 176 countries and territories (seven fewer than last year). The results may seem at first glance encouraging for several emerging European countries, but, on closer examination, they are not particularly impressive. TI has changed its scaling system (the scale now ranges from 0 to 100, from most to least corrupt) as well as its methodology: it now uses raw scores from its data sources rather than a country’s relative position. Though this will improve the accuracy of rankings and comparisons over time, this year’s scores cannot be directly compared with last year’s. As its name
Kinstellar participates at KPMG General Counsel Breakfast in Budapest
Lawyers from Kinstellar’s Hungarian office were invited to participate as guest speakers at KPMG’s General Counsel Breakfast, which took place at Budapest’s Hotel Corinthia on 12 December. Gábor Antal, Managing Associate, and Dávid Klacsmann, Associate, opened their presentation with a review of general counsel trends and new developments and how the role of general counsel is evolving in Hungary. They then spoke about current topics of interest, in particular the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act and the direct and indirect ramifications that these and other cross-border anti-corruption laws have in Hungary. Their presentation included a discussion on Kinstellar’s practical experience
Kinstellar co-hosts seminar on Compliance Risks and Cross-Border Investigations in CEE and Turkey
- On 29 November 2012, Kinstellar co-hosted a seminar on Compliance Risks and Cross-Border Investigations with Ernst & Young at Butchers’ Hall in London. The event drew around 60 participants from industry and US/UK law firms. The seminar addressed topical issues relating to risks, compliance and sensitive investigations. As international legislation and enforcement proceedings begin to clamp down on corruption, compliance is becoming increasingly important to corporate agendas across Europe. This is also true in the emerging markets of Central and Eastern Europe and Turkey. Though corruption is still prevalent, there are clear trends towards greater scrutiny on the part of local authorities, and the incidence of
Kinstellar hosts seminar on child-friendly justice
Kinstellar’s Bratislava office hosted a full-day seminar organised by UNICEF and the Pontis Foundation on the theme of Child-Friendly Justice. The event, held on 12 November 2012, was well-attended by private practitioners, lawyers from the Human Rights League and Legal Assistance Centre, family law judges and representatives from the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs and the Slovak Public Defender of Rights. Speakers included Peter Guran, who sits on the UN’s Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Alexandra Draková, responsible for Child Rights Advocacy at UNICEF Slovakia, praised the event for being one of the best she had attended. Click here to browse through pictures of the day. Kinstellar
Kinstellar in the China Business Law Review
Csilla Andrékó, managing partner of Kinstellar’s Budapest office, and Ádám Máttyus, partner and head of Kinstellar’s M&A and Corporate practice in Budapest, are quoted in a special Central and Eastern Europe supplement to the China Business Law Journal published in October. The special report highlights, country by country, the current situation of Chinese-CEE business relations and trends for the future. In Hungary, in an effort to boost Chinese-Hungarian investments, the government in May signed a broad-based cooperation agreement with several Chinese entities. While some deals have materialised, some observers note that the pace of investment has been slower than initial expectations.
Hungarian Insurance Premium Tax
Effective from 1 January 2013, Hungary will impose tax on insurance premiums. The new insurance premium tax (IPT) regime will have extraterritorial effect, taxing insurance premiums collected by non-Hungarian insurance companies insuring Hungarian risks on a freedom-of-services (FOS) basis (in addition to taxing Hungarian subsidiaries and branches of foreign insurers as well). Considering that several types of non-life insurance products (including, for instance, credit risk insurance or captive structures) will be hit by the new Hungarian IPT regime, it is of vital importance that all insurers who may insure Hungarian risks assess their position and the potential consequences. Hungarian IPT liability
Kinstellar Partner speaks at the Green Energy Investment Forum in Budapest
Kristóf Ferenczi, Partner and Head of Kinstellar’s firm-wide Energy practice, gave a presentation at the “Green Energy Investment Forum” in Budapest organised by Hungarian business website Portfolio.hu, which took place on 4 October 2012. The aim of the conference was to bring together the main participants in Hungary’s green energy sector and to provide a forum to discuss the challenges and opportunities within the sector. Participants included senior representatives from leading energy companies, banks, energy consultants, environmental experts, large energy consumers and government. Topics of discussion included: global trends on the green energy market; renewable energy investments in CEE; project financing
Kinstellar runs for United Way in Romania
A team of Kinstellar lawyers and staff, including Bucharest partner Bogdan Bibicu (pictured) and regional head of Learning & Development Roxana Radulescu, took part in the relay race of the 2012 Bucharest International Marathon, which took place on 7 October 2012. United Way Romania is one of the charitable partners of the race. Team Kinstellar-United Way finished 46th out of approximately 250 relay teams competing, while Team Kinstellar finished in a respectable 51st. The funds raised at the event will support United Way’s education projects aimed at integrating underprivileged children in school and supporting them with tutoring, nutrition, school supplies, etc. So far this year, more than 1,200
Kinstellar Partner speaks at the Economic Forum in Krynica, Poland
Prague-based Kinstellar partner Kamil Blažek who is also the Chairman of the Association for Foreign Investment spoke at the “Czech and Polish Investment Potential” panel discussion of the Economic Forum in Krynica, Poland (also known as the Central European “Davos”), which focused on investment incentives provided to investors by the Czech and Polish Governments. The discussion highlighted the relative strengths which both economies enjoy in the global and European context, making them attractive destinations for foreign direct investment and foreign capital investment. Panelists also focused on recent changes to the Czech investment incentives regime available to technology and manufacturing investors
The Turkish Competition Board decides that the match-fixing activities of football clubs are outside the scope of Turkish competition legislation (The Turkish Football Clubs)
The Turkish Competition Board recently published its decision on the match-fixing activities of some of Turkey’s football clubs, a scandal that has gripped the Turkish public over the past year. According to the Board, match-fixing is not subject to competition legislation. The Turkish Competition Board (the “Board”) recently (on 21 June 2012) made public its reasoned decision (the “Decision”) on the match-fixing activities of some of Turkey’s football clubs, a scandal that has gripped the Turkish public since last year. In contradiction of the claims of the third party that brought the case before the Board, the Board has decided by a majority that these activities do not fall within the scope of Law no. 4054
Slovak electricity distribution company fined for abuse of a dominant position by charging excessive prices for electricity metering
The Council of the Slovak Antimonopoly Office upheld a first instance decision in which a Slovak electricity distribution company, ZSE Distribúcia a.s., was fined for abusing a dominant position by charging excessive fees for taking special electricity meter readings in the course of customers’ shifting to another electricity supplier. Factual background By its decision No. 2012/DZ/R/2/030, the Council of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (the “Council”), acting in its capacity as the appellate body of the Antimonopoly Office of the Slovak Republic (the “AMO”) rejected on 29 June 2012 the appeal of ZSE Distribúcia a.s. (“ZSE-D”) and upheld AMO decision No. 2011/DZ/2/1/057 of 28 December