Free movement of goods

On 1 January 2004, the Agreement amending the Protocol to the Europe Agreement between the Czech Republic and the EC on conformity assessment and acceptance of industrial products (PECA) entered into force.
The PECA Protocol, including its Annexes, as a part of the Europe Agreement between the Czech Republic and the EC, was concluded on 4 April 2001 and published as a Council Decision of the same day.
The purpose of the PECA Protocol is to eliminate technical barriers to trade between countries in respect of industrial products. It provides for mutual acceptance of industrial products listed in the Annexes on mutual acceptance of industrial products that satisfy the requirements to be lawfully placed on the market in one of the states that are parties to the Europe Agreement; furthermore it provides for mutual recognition of the results of conformity assessment of industrial products.
Until recently, the application of Article 8 of the PECA Protocol was restricted to industrial products that originated in the parties of the Europe Agreement according to so called non-preferential rules of origin. In order to improve trade between the parties of the Europe Agreement, the above restriction of Article 8 disappeared as of 1 January 2004. Consequently, the PECA Protocol currently covers all industrial products regardless of their origin.
Other articles
KŠB advises J&T Banka, Unicredit, PPF Banka, Česká spořitelna and Komerční banka on the next phase of EMMA Capital's bond programme
KŠB is continuing its previous legal advisory work for J&T, Unicredit and Česká spořitelna on the bond programme of the investment group EMMA Capital, which is recording strong investor interest on the market again in the second half of the year.
KŠB secures landmark Supreme Court ruling on size premiums in squeeze-out valuations
Kocián Šolc Balaštík (KŠB) has obtained a significant victory before the Czech Supreme Court in a dispute over the fairness of the consideration paid to minority shareholders in Léčebné lázně Mariánské Lázně a.s. In its judgment in case no. 27 Cdo 1678/2025, the Court dismissed the claimants’ appeal and upheld the lower courts’ decisions. KŠB lawyers Radka Felgrová and Vlastimil Pihera represented the company and its majority shareholder.
KŠB advises on the sale of a majority stake in Znakon Group to enteria
KŠB provided legal advice on the sale of a 75% stake in Znakon, Znakon Asfalt and Znakon Servis to enteria, a Pardubice-based group and one of the Czech Republic’s largest construction holdings.