CEE Legal Matters Experts Review: Competition
Mind the Gap! European Union and Serbia
This Article was originally published in Issue 7.8 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. It’s no secret that competition law across the Western Balkans has been greatly shaped by EU accession, with local developments regularly driven by EU practice and the EU’s regulatory framework. Even if this were not the case in practice, the Stabilization […]
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The National Postal Service to be Privatised
Privatisation of Post Office of North Macedonia Announced
On 13 October 2020, the Government of North Macedonia announced its intention to amend the Law of Postal Services (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia no. 158/2010, as amended), which would allow for the Post Office of North Macedonia, the national postal service of the country, to be privatised. A feasibility study is set […]
Read more Another Global Recognition of our Competition Lawyers
Who’s Who Legal Recognised Lawyers from Karanovic & Partners as Leading Competition Experts from Serbia
We are proud to announce that three members of our Competition team were recognised in 2020’s edition of Who’s Who Legal: Competition as leading Serbian competition lawyers. Our Senior Partner, Rastko Petaković, Partner* Bojan Vučković and Senior Associate* Bojana Miljanović were named among other world’s leading competition lawyers. Our colleagues continue to maintain their high […]
Read more The European Commission Fined Coroos and Groupe CECAB
EUR 31.6 Million Fines Imposed in the Canned Vegetable Cartel Case
On 27 September 2019, the European Commission (“Commission”) fined Coroos and Groupe CECAB a total amount of EUR 31.647 million for participating in a canned vegetable cartel for over 13 years, while the third participant, Bonduelle received full immunity as a whistleblower. According to the Commission, the cartel was formed with the aim of preserving […]
Read more Competition Update: Serbia
Competition Commission Initiates a Gun-Jumping Investigation
On 17 September, the Serbian Commission for Protection of Competition (the “Serbian NCA”) initiated official proceedings against a local pharmacy chain (“Janković Pharmacy”), in order to investigate whether it failed to file a mandatory merger notification prior to a reportable acquisition. The Serbian NCA’s concerns were triggered by finding out that in March 2019, the […]
Read more Energy and Natural Resources Update: North Macedonia
North Macedonia Joins the Energy Project Alexandroupolis
On 2 October 2020, the Prime Minister of North Macedonia announced that the country will join the construction of the terminal for natural gas in Alexandroupolis, Greece. Gastrade, the Greek utility company developing the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal, has provided their support to include North Macedonia in the project. The terminal, which is expected to become […]
Read more Legislation Update - Montenegro
Rulebooks Accompanying the New Company Law in Montenegro Adopted
Following the entrance into force of the new Company Law back in July, the Official Gazette of Montenegro yesterday published two by-laws specifically regulating the registration procedure and the respective fees for such procedure. In that line, the following two Rulebooks have been adopted: “the Rulebook on determining the criteria and the fees amount for […]
Read more IFLR 1000 Rankings Announced
IFLR 1000 Once Again Marked Karanovic & Partners as the Leading Legal Practice in the SEE Region
Karanović & Partners has been recognized once again as a top-tier law firm in the newest IFLR 1000‘s ranking of leading legal practices. This year, IFLR 1000 has ranked Karanović & Partners and the cooperating lawyers as Tier 1 in the Financial and Corporate and Project Development categories. As in previous ranking, Miloš Vučković, Darko Jovanović and Nihad Sijerčić have […]
Read more Aviation Update: Croatia
Privatisation of Croatian Airlines Postponed Due to COVID-19 Crisis
Croatian Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure announced that the government will continue the privatisation of state-owned airline operator Croatia Airlines after the COVID-19 crisis subsides. At the beginning of the year, the government was ready to enter the second phase of negotiations with two interested companies. However, after the COVID-19 outbreak, the aviation […]
Read more Competition Update: Slovenia
European Commission Clears Fortenova’s Acquisition of Mercator
On 21 September, the European Commission (“EC”) unconditionally cleared a transaction involving the acquisition of the Slovenian retail conglomerate Mercator by Fortenova Group. Both undertakings are active in the supply of daily consumer goods across Southeast Europe. The transaction in question represents a part of a broader restructuring process of Agrokor (Fortenova’s predecessor and majority […]
Read more The First Overseas Office of the International Development Finance Corporation
DFC Opens a Regional Office in Belgrade
22 September 2020 has marked an opening of the first overseas office of the International Development Finance Corporation (“DFC”), America’s development bank, in Serbia’s capital Belgrade. This is one of the first steps following the political agreement signed in Washington on 4 September 2020, as well as letters of interest that Serbia recently signed with […]
Read more Legislation Update - Montenegro
The Montenegrin Competition Agency Starts an In-Depth Investigation on Latest Rounds of Airline State Aid
On 3 September 2020, the Montenegrin Competition Agency (the “Agency”) initiated a formal investigation over the compliance of state aid provided to the Montenegrin national airline with the EU framework and the local state aid rules. The European Commission has been underlining the support given to Montenegro Airlines as potentially problematic from a state aid […]
Read more Legislation Update: Montenegro
Revising the Regulatory Environment for Media in Montenegro
On 27 July 2020, the Montenegrin Parliament enacted a new Media Law (the “Law“), so as to harmonize the legal framework with European Union standards. The new rules introduced in the Law aim to improve transparency of the local media landscape, while trying to keep up with a rapidly evolving world. The main novelties of […]
Read more Intellectual Property Regional Update
Give Your Brand a Boost with Balkan ccTLDs
Domain name extensions have for a long time been only that – domain name extensions. DotCom and DotNet dominated the Internet sky for years with no specific reason – inertia maybe. Now the extensions are substantially integrated into a domain name – not just hanging at the end. Eastern European countries have a lot to […]
Read more Karanovic & Partners and AFA Strengthening their Corporate Partnership
Karanovic & Partners Took Part in Two Webinars Organised by AFA
As a corporate member of Association for Female Affirmation (AFA), Karanovic & Partners took part on 2 webinars organized by AFA on 11 September 2020. Senior Associate* Milica Filipović and Associate* Milijana Tomić held a workshop within “She’s Next” program, designed for female entrepreneurs who are at the very beginning of the development of their […]
Read more Karanovic & Partners Partnered with Blocknify Startup
k/signing powered by Blocknify Launched
Karanovic & Partners launched k/signing, an electronic signature technology, in partnership with Blocknify. With k/signing, we aim to facilitate the procedure of electronic execution of documents in a secure and transparent manner using blockchain. “The absolute need for remote execution of documents is now more evident than ever. This is why we have partnered with […]
Read more Data Protection Update: North Macedonia
Little Under a Year Left for Data Protection Compliance
On 24 February 2020, the new Law on Personal Data Protection (“Law”) entered into force. With it, North Macedonia largely harmonized its data protection legislation with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), however, certain differences do exist. Data subjects have more control over their personal data which is subject to processing, and many obligations are […]
Read more Karanovic & Partners Firm Update
Karanovic & Partners Announces Withdrawal of Patricia Gannon and Dejan Nikolic
After a prolonged process, Karanovic & Partners announces the withdrawal of founding partners Patricia Gannon and Dejan Nikolic. Both Dejan and Patricia have played a vital role in contributing to the immense success of the firm over the past 25 years. Dejan had led the firm’s expansion strategy throughout the former Yugoslavia to what it […]
Read more CEE Legal Matters Experts Review: Energy and Natural Resources
The Gas Sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina – Regulatory Framework and Obstacles for Market Development
This Article was originally published in Issue 7.6 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH) is a contracting party to the Energy Community. As such, it has undertaken the obligation to align its energy sector legislation and transpose the Third Energy Package in the gas sector, among others. Such alignment in […]
Read more Success from Here – Stories of People from the IT Sector
Rastko Petakovic at the Documentary about Serbian Startup Scene
Rastko Petaković, Senior Partner at Karanović & Partners, took part in the documentary “Success from here – stories of people from the IT sector”. The movie produced by Talas in cooperation with Startit deals with the rise of the IT sector in Serbia and was premiered on 29 August on N1 television. Rastko Petakovic spoke […]
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