On 8 March 2018, the European Commission (EC) published its long-awaited new FinTech Action Plan. The EC understands FinTech to be technology-enabled innovation in financial services, and the strategy covers developments related to new technologies which are changing the financial industry and the way consumers and firms access services. At the same time, the action plan also covers related challenges, such as cyber threats, and proposes the assessment of innovative technologies, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies and cloud computing services.
EU Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis recently compared the increasing digitalization of financial services to a global ‘space race’ – in which Europe should not lose out. Various national supervisory authorities in Europe are concerned about the ‘gamification’ of, and advertisement methods for, certain financial services and warn of the risks associated with Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). An important policy debate for FinTech is thus in full swing at EU level.
One of the greatest conceptual changes and innovations of the currently effective new Civil Code (Act V of 2013 on the Civil Code) was the permissive regulation of the corporate rules, which is more flexible than the former binding approach.
One of the many questions asked by our clients is: “Does Polish law recognise the concept of ‘piercing the corporate veil?’” Is it possible to disregard the separate legal personality of a company or corporation and make shareholders liable for the debts of the company? This question has been asked since the introduction of the market economy in Poland (in 1989) and there is still no clear answer. 
On 15 January 2018, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (Ministry) held a conference to summarize the outcome of a public consultation on Poland’s draft GDPR implementation law. The consultation invited all citizens and entrepreneurs to express their opinion on the draft law on the protection of personal data, which was released by the Ministry on 14 September 2017.
The Slovak Ministry of Justice was very busy last year, and the recent amendment to the Commercial Code introduces a number of provisions that are aimed at fixing local malpractice related to mergers and liquidation of companies, use of “straw men” as executives and the impact of bad decisions of shareholders on the local affiliates.
Increasingly in recent years, businesses and other organizations have sought to understand the complex nature of the legal relationships between the European Commission, EU member states and the European Parliament, and to engage more effectively with “government,” whether at local, national or European levels.
On 13 January 2018, a new regulation for the provision of payment services will come into force in the Czech Republic, introducing the most significant changes to the Czech banking market in recent years.
As of 1 January 2018, Hungary’s new communication platform is now in use. It is a concept similar to the electronic communication platform that has been widely available to private individuals for some time. The purpose of both platforms is to enable users to communicate efficiently with the central and local governments online. While private individuals are free to choose whether to use the electronic communication, businesses must act via the new platform. As of the beginning of the year, the electronic communication platform is the only route to reach out to authorities and government agencies and vice versa; the government will communicate with the business entities exclusively through this electronic platform. Each business entity must specify an email address in its corporate data.
As of January 1, 2018, those who are obliged to file a petition for declaration of bankruptcy of a company will face stricter liability in Slovakia, which could even result in their disqualification to sit on boards of Slovak companies. 