September 8, 2018
With concerns over challenges posed by China, the US government recently introduced new measures designed to enact control over the transfer and use of US goods and technologies both in the US and abroad. Applicable to emerging market M&A and joint ventures, these new measures manifest as two new laws – The Foreign Investment Risk Modernization Act (FIRRMA) and the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA). FIRRMA clarifies and expands the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United…
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August 15, 2018
In the wake of GDPR, Poland has adopted a number of measures related to employee monitoring. Enshrined in the Polish Labor Code, there are a number of issues one should be aware of now when carrying on business in Poland. Video monitoring An employer can now utilise video monitoring only when it is considered necessary for furthering employee safety, property protection, production supervision and ensuring the confidentiality of information. Utilization is allowed in places of work; whereas monitoring is forbidden…
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August 13, 2018
Bulgaria has recently adopted new appeal procedures related to public procurement. Designed to speed-up appeals and to bring an end to bad faith actions, the new rules are designed to place Bulgaria in line with more general European norms. Public procurement makes up approx. 9% of Bulgaria’s annual GDP; thus, the new measures are designed to protect and enhance this very important aspect of Bulgaria’s economy. Prior to the adopte…d measures, Bulgaria has found it difficult to implement large infrastructure…
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August 10, 2018
This past July, Croatia’s parliament adopted a new Capital Markets Act in order to align Croatian legislation with the EU acquis. The at meets the EU’s cornerstone financial markets regulation – the Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments repealing Directive 2004/39/EC and the Regulation on Markets in Financial Instruments; commonly referred to as MiFID II and MiFIR. MiFID II and MiFIR are designed to ensure fair, safe and more efficient markets, and to better facilitate greater transparency for all market participants. More precisely,…
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July 24, 2018
Russia has slowly moved forward in terms of its response to a recent push by the US to levy sanctions in April 2018 against certin Russian state-controlled entities and individuals, and the companies they control. Last month, legislation was passed in Russia providing the Russian government with the authority to impose certain restrictive measures against certain foreign persons and goods and services in accordance with a decision of th…e Russian president. This new law does not in itself impose restrictions….
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July 5, 2018
The EU has introduced new cross-border transaction reporting requirements. Recently in May, the EU quietly adopted Council Directive 2018/822/EU on the reporting of “potentially aggressive” cross-border tax-planning arrangements. Reporting requirements will kick-in on August 31st, 2020, after the Council Directive is implemented by EU Member States. What is important is that the Council Directive is simply an instruction to Member States to create new national laws according to the principles of the directive; the directive itself is not itself a…
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