ArE U ready? |
| From a legal standpoint, Romania 's accession in the European Union will firstly represent thousand of pages of Community Law (EC law) superseding our national legislation. Despite the level of harmonisation we proudly present as having been achieved so far, many gaps still need to be filled; private entities will be obligated to observe thousands of pages of provisions to be directly applied without transposition into national law, and more than 50 years of case law of the European Court of Justice. |
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| Competition law |
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| Companies need to ensure that their existing business practices and commercial contracts will not be caught by EU competition law triggering fines and being prohibited from continuation. Particular attention should be paid, among others, to the following issues: |
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nature, scope and duration of exclusivity clauses stipulated in distribution, licence and technology |
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transfer agreements; |
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unilateral market behaviour, such as pricing policies for large companies that may be considered |
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as having dominant position; |
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notification obligations at local and EU level for any planed merger, acquisition or joint venture |
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transaction; |
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potential conflict with EU state aid rules when receiving benefits from both central and local |
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governments. |
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| State aid |
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| The provisions regulating state aid create significant problems for companies wanting to benefit from such aid. EU legislation and the years of practical experience gained by the European Commission and the judgements of the European Court of Justice will decisively affect the availability of aid to companies. Our services in this respect will include, among others: |
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information about the practical consequences of modifying the state aid regulations to EU state |
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aid rules and the consequences of accession for a given company or sector; |
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assistance and interpreting domestic and EC law on state aid asindicated by the company; |
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analysis of selected areas of legislation on state aid for compliance with EC |
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drawing your attention to risks resulting from accession for a given company or sector relating to |
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the availability of various forms of state aid. |
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| Intellectual property |
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| IP is often a highly valuable and important asset to companies. If your company's IP portfolio is not managed properly, you may face risk losing protection of those high value assets. |
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| European Community creates a unique opportunity for business in new Member States to secure principal intellectual property rights on a Community level through a single application registration process. A review of your company's intellectual property portfolio and overall IP strategy can help you to prevent loss of protection and possible conflicts between national and Community trademarks and designs. |
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| Regulated industries |
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| Special EU rules apply to certain regulated industries, such as telecommunications, automotive, pharmaceuticals industries, financial services and others. |
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| Non-compliance with such rules may result in a company losing its licence, or it would harm its reputation, resulting in a loss of business. |
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| How can we help you? |
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legal compliance review: assessment of your company's business practices, contracts and |
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market behaviour concerning their compliance with local laws and directly applicable EC law; |
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drafting and updating agreements and internal policies; |
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advice on transitional measures and new local laws affecting your company's business operations; |
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interpretation of EU legislation and case law. |
