AUSTRIA
Preliminary ruling on cross-border (tele-)medical services
From time to time, Austrian courts bring ground-breaking legal issues before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) that have far-reaching consequences. It could well be that such a ruling is handed down very soon as the Austrian Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof – OGH) recently sought a preliminary ruling from the ECJ on the cross-border provision of medical services.
BULGARIA
Bulgaria introduces new Cybersecurity obligations
A draft amendment to the Cybersecurity Act (the “Draft Cybersecurity Act”) aims to transpose the NIS2 Directive (Directive (EU) 2022/2555) into Bulgarian law by introducing a range of requirements for entities operating in critical sectors. The primary objective of the Draft Cybersecurity Act is to create national framework for risk management, reporting and cybersecurity certification.
HUNGARY
Hungarian Trade and Consumer Protection Authority to be established
On 9 October 2024, Mr. Márton Nagy, Minister for National Economy, announced that from 1 January 2025 the Hungarian Trade and Consumer Protection Authority ("NKFH") will be established under the auspices of the Ministry for National Economy.
ROMANIA
Extension of the scope of ESG reporting under Order of the Minister of Finance No 85/2024
Order of the Minister of Finance No 85/2024 ("OMF 85/2024") on regulating sustainability reporting issues was published in the Official Gazette of Romania No. 75 on 26 January 2024. OMF 85/2024 transposes into national law Directive (EU) 2022/2464 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), which aims to improve and standardize sustainability reporting by companies.
SLOVENIA
Adoption of the Purchasers and Servicers of Non-Performing Bank Loans Act
Directive (EU) 2021/2167 on credit servicers and credit purchasers (the »Directive«) was transposed into Slovenian law through the adoption of the Purchasers and Servicers of Non-Performing Bank Loans Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 12/2024, hereinafter the “NPL Act”), which entered into force on 24 February 2024. The Directive is part of the EU action plan to reduce the stock of non-performing loans (the »NPL«) in the EU and to put in place a legal framework for the development of secondary markets for NPLs.