Cross-border mergers have become an integral part of corporate restructurings within the EU internal market. Groups have been taking advantage of the harmonized rules to move or consolidate operations, ownership of assets and liabilities across the member states – for instance, many corporations used cross-border mergers to reorganise their structures as a result of Brexit. However, the level of harmonization of cross-border reorganizations was limited, covering only mergers of limited liability companies, while other forms were absent. New legislation, discussed in more detail in this article, expands the rules for cross-border reorganizations by introducing comprehensive procedures also for cross-border conversions and divisions and revising rules on cross-border mergers of LLCs. It aims at making the process simpler, faster and cheaper, while, at the same time, ensuring increased protection of shareholders, employees and creditors and allowing national authorities to block cross-border reorganizations set up for fraudulent or abusive purposes, such as circumvention of social security payments or tax obligations. Continue Reading
While the electronic communications services industry is still awaiting legislative developments regarding the Electronic Communications Law, which was to be the main act implementing Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 11, 2018, establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (EECC) in Poland, amendments are underway on the National Cyber Security System Act, which also contains regulations introducing important obligations on electronic communications entrepreneurs.
Electricity prices are going through the roof and the continuing conflict in Ukraine does not bode well for imminent price decreases. Commercial property owners, aligning with the changing regulatory environment and listening to their tenants’ needs, are quicker to consider installing solar panels atop their commercial buildings. Certain regulatory issues should be considered before deciding to generate solar energy on real properties. The regulatory environment depends on many factors concerning such activity, in particular on the solar panels capacity, on the generated energy’s designation – whether for own or third-party (tenants’) needs – and, finally, on whether such activity would entail earning a profit on the delivered energy.
The new Construction Act has been adopted in its 3rd reading by the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament in the wording of a comprehensive amendment submitted by Mr. Kolovratník. The unified state building administration should therefore be put into effect next year and the new act as a whole will become effective from 1.7. 2023 (if also approved by the Senate and signed by the President). It is not clear at this moment if the Senate will return the Act back with amendments and in such a case there may not be enough time (and potentially votes) to pass it through Parliament before the elections which will take place this autumn. If this occurs there would not be any new Construction Act and the legislative process will have to start again from the beginning. The state building administration change is so revolutionary that it may cause disruption in the construction sector in the short term. On the other hand, the overall impact of the new law could potentially be positive for development projects in the Czech Republic.
The Sejm has voted in favour of the draft “temporary” review of the civil procedure, which we addressed in January. Technically, this is an amendment to the Act of 2 March 2020, rather than to the Code of Civil Procedure, and the new solutions will apply for one year after lifting the state of epidemic hazard.
