Control of foreign investments—upcoming changes
In May 2025 a bill to amend the Control of Certain Investments Act was published on the website of Poland’s Government Legislative Centre. The proponent is the Minister of Economic Development and Technology. The bill is not extensive (containing only four articles), but would introduce significant changes for the future.
What does olive oil have to do with wine? When a trademark containing a geographical indication can be registered
A Portuguese company filed for trademark registration by the EUIPO of the word sign “Quevedo Port” for two products: olive oil and wine. Registration was opposed by an association of makers of Port wine, which is a protected denomination of origin. Nonetheless, the EUIPO properly registered the disputed mark. Why?
Environmental criminal law—current status and prospects
Human activity exerts greater and greater impact on the environment. The resulting environmental degradation also poses numerous threats to human life and health. On top of this, the growing generation of waste causes serious ecological problems, but also creates a space for abuses and criminal activity.
Judges in their own case?
It has been a year since I wrote about the practical consequences of the constitutional crisis in Poland. Then I discussed the Constitutional Tribunal judgment of 8 May 2024 (case no. SK 59/21), which held that the inability to challenge an order denying relief from paying court costs (fee on appeal) issued for the first time by the appellate court is unconstitutional. To this day, that judgment has yet to be published, and it appears that the holding is not being respected—likewise for the judgment of 4 June 2024 (case no. SK 140/20) on the calculation of pensions for some 200,000 people who elected to take early retirement.
Guide to the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, part 4: Fines and other penalties
The obligations under the FSR aren’t purely technical. They are formal requirements, and failure to comply can lead to serious legal and financial consequences. Non-notification, submitting incomplete or inaccurate information, or delay in responding to a request from the European Commission can result in a high fine or other monetary penalty, a ban on conducting a concentration, or exclusion from a public procurement proceeding.
Proposed deregulation of pharmaceutical law
Marketing authorisation holders will no longer have to inform the Integrated System for Monitoring Trade in Medicinal Products of the planned place of delivery of medicines, and it will be easier for persons authorised to issue prescriptions to obtain drug samples. The Polish government has approved these deregulatory proposals in the healthcare field, to be achieved by amending the Pharmaceutical Law. There are also plans to modify the requirements for qualified persons.
Guide to the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, part 3: Notification in public procurement
In this section we discuss step by step the key requirements of the FSR for notification of foreign subsidies in public procurement procedures, from the threshold and the scope of information that must be submitted, to responsibility for the data, and practical pointers for contractors and consortia.
Guide to the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, part 2: Notification of concentrations
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures on the EU market are now subject to review not only for antitrust considerations, but also with regard to support from third countries. Below we examine when a transaction must be notified under the FSR and how to prepare for the new procedure.
Closer and closer to repowering wind farms
On 24 March 2025 a bill was filed with the Sejm to amend the Wind Power Plants Act. We discussed the key changes compared to the earlier draft of 25 September 2024 in last week’s article. This article is devoted entirely to “repowering,” i.e. upgrading existing wind power plants.
Guide to the Foreign Subsidies Regulation: Key facts for businesses, part 1
More and more companies from outside the EU are operating on the internal market—investing, acquiring local companies, winning public tenders. Until recently, they could operate with the advantage of support from their home countries. But now, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation, the European Commission can examine their situation to ensure fair competition on the internal market.
Windmill bill filed with parliament
For a long time we have been tracking the work on amending the regulations on siting of wind power plants in Poland. In October 2024 we discussed a proposed amendment to the Wind Power Plant Act which would relax the rules for the distance between wind power plants and other facilities. In March 2025 this bill, in a slightly revised form, was submitted to the parliament and is finally being taken up. The key provisions are unchanged: the amendment is intended to expedite the development of onshore wind power in Poland, mainly by eliminating the “10H rule” and introducing a new limit of 500 metres as the minimum distance from residential structures. In this article we discuss the major differences between the current bill and the previous version.
Vehicle liability insurance: Automatic extension of coverage, and withdrawal of an insurer’s licence to conduct insurance activity
On 16 April 2025 the Polish Financial Supervision Authority banned the Bulgarian company Insurance JSC DallBogg: Life and Health from offering mandatory civil-liability coverage for operators of motor vehicles in Poland. The decision was issued under the rarely-used procedure of Art. 214(5) and (4a) of the Insurance and Reinsurance Act of 11 September 2015.
