As digital solutions become more widespread in business operations, the use of electronic signatures for labor-related documents is increasingly common in Slovakia. However, it is crucial for both employers and employees to understand whether such signatures hold legal validity under Slovak labor law. This article examines the key points surrounding the use of electronic signatures in labor documents.

In Austria, workforce restructuring is often necessary for companies facing economic challenges or needing to reorganize. However, the process is heavily regulated, and employers must ensure compliance with legal requirements to avoid complications and potential legal risks. This article outlines the key steps and legal obligations employers must follow when carrying out workforce reductions in Austria, with a particular focus on the importance of detailed planning, timing, and legal compliance.

Over the past years, the legislation dealing with workplace harassment has significantly expanded, with new rules and obligations continuously being added, especially for employers. Anti-discrimination laws, equal opportunity frameworks, and harassment prevention policies have all been gradually enforced, shaping an extensive legal landscape meant to protect employees from abusive behaviors.

In Latvia, the termination of employment relationships for labor union members is specifically regulated to protect their rights. However, in practice, this regulation creates significant challenges for employers, as labor unions almost always refuse to grant consent for dismissal.

The year 2025 began with a development that raised important questions regarding the interpretation of the Serbian Labor Law, specifically concerning employees’ right to compensation for commuting costs.

It has been almost a year since Ukraine introduced rules regarding the protection of employees in the case of a transfer of a business entity to its Labor Code in accordance with Law No. 3677-IX (Rules). The Rules entered into force on May 15, 2024, and aimed at approximating national legislation to the Transfers of Undertakings Directive 2001/23/EC of March 12, 2001. Even though local businesses continue testing this new legislation in practice, the area still remains terra incognita for many practitioners. Now that some time has passed, it is possible to summarize the major practical imperfections of the Rules.

Outsourcing involves a transfer by a business (customer) to a third party (supplier) of the operational responsibility for the provision of a distinct business function, process, or service. Given the inherent transfer of responsibility, many outsourcing arrangements involve a transfer to the supplier of those employees who were engaged by the customer in the activity that is being outsourced. Macedonian law does not specifically regulate outsourcing transactions. Nonetheless, the Macedonian Law on Labor Relations 2005 (Labor Law) is harmonized with the EU Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment Directive 2001/23/EC of 12 March 2001 (TUPE) and, therefore, applies to the transfer of employees both on the initial outsourcing and on any subsequent or second-generation outsourcing.

The Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Games of Chance, adopted by the end of 2024 and applied as from 6 January 2025, has brought several important changes and new legal solutions that have arisen from the needs of practice and market development. In addition to harmonizing the text of the law with the technological development in this area, the amendments to the law introduced new obligations for organizers and a significant increase in fees for obtaining approval and for organizing games of chance.

Significant amendments to Hungary's foreign direct investment (FDI) control regime entered into force on 24 June 2025, introducing expanded pre-emption rights for the state and revised procedural timelines.

After the European Commission’s letter in December 2024, which identified the risks of regulatory arbitrage stemming from diverging interpretations, risks that we also encounter in practice, the European Banking Authority (“EBA”), in its outlook, called for no immediate action regarding the PSD2’s applicability to services related to electronic money tokens (“EMTs”). On 10 June 2025, the long-awaited Opinion of the EBA (the “EBA No Action Letter”) on the interplay between Directive 2015/2366 (“PSD2”) and Regulation 2023/1114 (“MiCA”) in relation to crypto-asset service providers (“CASPs”) that transact in EMTs was finally published.  

Ukrainian taxpayers operating within multinational enterprise groups (MNEs) with consolidated annual revenues exceeding EUR 750 million may, for the first time in 2025, be required to independently file Country-by-Country (CbC) reports. This applies in particular to companies that are part of MNEs with a U.S.-based ultimate parent entity.

The Czech Office for the Protection of Competition fined the Association of Disinfection, Disinsection and Pest Control Workers of the Czech Republic for publishing, since 2016, so-called median prices for the provision of disinfection, disinsection and pest control services on its website.

On 11 June 2025 the Hungarian Parliament adopted the proposal on the protection of local identity, essentially drafted to safeguard the interests of local communities in Hungarian municipalities, which was also published in the Hungarian Gazette on 16 June 2025.

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine has introduced several important changes in the field of plant variety rights protection that will facilitate registration for right holders.

In April 2007, Estonia made global headlines — not for a military conflict or natural disaster, but for one of the first coordinated large-scale cyberattacks against a nation-state. Sparked by the relocation of a Soviet-era war memorial in Tallinn (known as the Bronze Night), the country’s digital infrastructure was flooded with denial-of-service attacks. Government websites, banks, media outlets, and essential services were knocked offline. It was a wake-up call: digital threats could now paralyze a country just as effectively as tanks and missiles. 

May 1, 2025, brought significant changes to design protection in the EU. Here are three key updates no designer should overlook:

On 17 June 2025, the Hungarian Parliament adopted a bill on the establishment of the central budget for 2026, which would amend several laws, including the Hungarian ESG Act.

The below reforms are designed to support Ukraine’s commitments under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement and aim to improve legal clarity, transparency, and accountability for the use of state aid.