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EU adopts 18th sanctions package against Russia
On July 18, the European Council adopted its 18th sanctions package to be imposed on Russia for its continued war in Ukraine. The sanctions are mainly aimed at entities and activities concerning the military, energy, and banking sectors. The package also includes efforts to provide protection for Member States against investment arbitration and additional measures against the circumvention of the sanctions in place. We summarize the key issues touched on by the new amendments below. Military sanctions Measures aimed at the Russian military industrial complex and its suppliers include tighter export restrictions on certain dual-use goods and technologies for 26 new entities, 11 of which are located
European Commission guidance letter on licensing standard essential patents by the Automotive Licensing Negotiation Group
The European Commission issued an informal guidance letter to the Automotive Licensing Negotiation Group (ALNG), marking the first application of the Informal Guidance Notice allowing for undertakings to approach the Commission with novel or unresolved issues concerning European competition law. Licensing Negotiation Groups (LNGs) are a novel form of agreement and share certain characteristics with joint purchasing agreements – only that they aim at licensing intellectual property rights instead of purchasing goods or services. ALNG, formed by BMW, Volkswagen, ThyssenKrupp and Mercedes-Benz, is the first of its kind in the EU, aimed at licensing standard essential patents (SEPs), which are patents that are required to
New Hungarian rules on waste management fines
On 23 June 2025 the Government Decree 156/2025. (VI. 23.) on the amount of waste management fines and on the detailed rules for the assessment, criteria for determining and imposing waste management fines and on the application of other sanctions ("Decree") was published. The Decree specifies the amounts of waste management fines and provides for additional sanctions for specific infringements. The basic amount of the waste management fine to be imposed for each infringement and the method of calculating the fine are set out in the annexes of the Decree. The amount of the waste management fine may be increased in the case of certain aggravating factors, but the total amount may not exceed HUF 50 million for natural
Important changes in the EU to rules on packaging and packaging waste: What you need to know
The European Parliament and the European Council formally adopted Regulation (EU) 2025/40 on packaging and packaging waste (“PPWR”) on 16 December 2024, as part of a comprehensive review of packaging obligations in line with the Circular Economy Action Plan. The PPWR introduces measures affecting all packaging and packaging waste, impacting businesses across various sectors. Key provisions include restrictions on substances in packaging (e.g. limits on on lead content), mandatory recyclability requirements, and specific rules on extended producer responsibility for packaging waste. Packaging must be designed for recycling by 1 January 2030 and capable of being recycled at scale by 1 January 2035. Additionally
Significant changes to the Hungarian Competition Act expected in the summer
The latest proposed amendment to the Hungarian Competition Act, recently submitted to the Hungarian Parliament, would enter into force on 1 July 2024, but it has not yet been adopted. The package of amendments would cover several areas, including the introduction of a new concept of undertaking and a new exemption category from the prohibition of restrictive agreements. Undertaking of fundamental principle The proposed amendment would introduce the concept of undertaking of fundamental principle. The Hungarian Competition Authority (HCA) would be able to determine in the context of a competition supervision procedure that an undertaking is of cross-market significance for competition and consumers. To do so, the
Hungarian Government's decree on reducing food inflation to enter into force
The Hungarian government's decree on measures to combat the so-called “shrinkflation” will enter into force on 1 February 2024. “Shrinkflation” refers to the hidden raising of prices by reducing the size of products. The measures apply to pre-packaged products that are sold by retailers in one or more sizes in a uniform appearance. The new measures primarily affect convenience store retailers with a net turnover of more than HUF 1 billion, but also expressly impose obligations on manufacturers. Moreover, the obligations of manufacturers forms the basis of compliance. The manufacturer (or the first distributor/wholesaler in Hungary) is obliged to inform both the retailer and the National Food Chain Safety