International agreement to eliminate customs duties on approved pharmaceuticals
EU Member States adopted an international agreement to eliminate customs dutieson all new pharmaceuticals traded with the US and Switzerland. The agreement wasreached on 12 January 2007 and eliminates customs duties between the EU,Switzerland and US on finished pharmaceutical products and on the chemicalintermediates used in their production. It replaces a previous agreement from1994 that already enabled many pharmaceuticals to benefit from zero-tariffs, butdid not cover any of the more recent products. With this review, 1,290additional products have been added to the 7,329 products currently benefitingfrom duty-free treatment. The EU imports more than 80% of its pharmaceuticalsfrom the US and Switzerland, and the European Chemical Industry Council (CEFIC)believes that the agreement could save European pharmaceutical companies up to€230 million in 2007 alone.
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KŠB assisted Seyfor with the extension of its financing provided by Raiffeisenbank, Tatra banka and, newly, Slovenská sporiteľňa.
The KŠB team provided legal advice to its long-standing client Seyfor in connection with the continuation and expansion of its syndicated financing. The existing lending banks, Raiffeisenbank Czech Republic and Tatra banka, decided to continue supporting Seyfor’s growth, with Slovenská sporiteľňa joining the financing as a new lender.
Evidence skutečných majitelů: Co přinese znepřístupnění od 17. prosince 2025?
Letošní rozhodnutí Nejvyššího soudu a Nejvyššího správního soudu navázala na rozsudky Soudního dvora Evropské unie, a, s platností i pro Českou republiku, konstatovala, že zveřejňování údajů v rámci evidence skutečných majitelů představuje nepřiměřený zásah do základních práv majitelů na soukromí a ochranu osobních údajů. Důležitým aspektem těchto rozhodnutí byl závěr, že sankce, které postihují povinné subjekty jako reakce na nesplnění jejich povinnosti zápisu do evidence skutečných majitelů, není možné vymáhat, dokud je evidence veřejná. Tato situace se změní 17. prosince 2025, kdy ministerstvo znepřístupní evidenci skutečných majitelů; povinným subjektům tak budou opět hrozit závažné sankce.
30th Advent Concert for the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havlová Foundation
This year again, during the pre-Christmas season, the Advent Concert of Good Will took place. Since 1995, it has been organised by the law firm Kocián Šolc Balaštík in support of the Committee of Good Will – Olga Havlová Foundation. This was already the 30th anniversary edition, made exceptional by the fact that we organised it for the first time together with our partner, Smetanova Litomyšl, as part of a broader mutual cooperation. As always, the concert was held in the concert hall of the Church of Sts. Simon and Jude in Prague’s Old Town.
