The accession of Cyprus to the European Union on 1 May 2004 had a substantial impact on the Cyprus legal system and was preceded by intensive activity to harmonise Cyprus law with the substantial body of European Union Directives and other legal provisions. Due to the heavy workload faced by the various government departments and the Attorney General’s office it was decided to outsource the implementation into Cyprus law of a number of European Union Directives to Cyprus lawyers and legal consultants. Andreas Neocleous and Co LLC was the first firm to be entrusted with this challenging task.  A specialised team was set up for the project, working closely with the Attorney General’s office to draft legislation to implement various EU Directives into Cyprus law. 

OBJECTIVE

After accession to the European Union there is still the same need to keep Cyprus law up to date and in line with EU law and legal developments. Andreas Neocleous & Co LLC has an established EU  and Competition law department whose members are experienced, specialist advocates and legal consultants. 
Our specialists in EU law provide legal services to individuals, companies and other bodies concerning the implementation of various European projects and organise workshops and seminars related to European operational programs. They are highly conversant with the interregional, transnational and cross-border cooperation programmes involving Cyprus during the EU’s 2007-2013 programming period as well as the new programming framework, Horizon 2014-2020. Our staff are able to advise clients on the operation of these programming frameworks and on opportunities arising from them. 
In addition we have a dedicated team dealing with EU and domestic competition law and anti-cartel matters. Competition is a key issue in many corporate and commercial transactions and our specialist lawyers have unmatched expertise and experience in giving practical, commercial advice on complex national and European competition law matters.
Our EU and competition law specialists are able to draw on the experience gained by the competent authorities and legal profession in other EU member states through our network of offices in mainland Europe.

AREAS OF LAW

Our legal advice and assistance cover all aspects of European law including:

• European business grant schemes
• European Territorial Cooperation Programmes.
• EU funding programmes and submission of project ideas related to research and innovation.
• Proposal writing and project management.
• Rationale and flagship initiatives of Europe 2020.
• Coordination, design and analysis of the development strategy for the establishment of national programming documents of the EU.
• Training and networking through workshops and seminars.
• Implementation of the institutional framework of the EU into national law.
• Negotiation with EU institutions for the enlargement of the national institutional framework and the assimilation of Cyprus with the other outermost regions of the EU.

For EU law enquiries please contact Elena Christodoulou.

We provide a comprehensive service in all aspects of competition law including:

• Preparing, drafting and filing notifications of proposed concentrations of major importance  with the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition as regards mergers and acquisitions for Phase I and Phase II and representing clients in order to secure the requisite approvals.
• Dealing with complaints regarding anti-competitive behaviour and representing clients before the Cyprus Commission for the Protection of Competition and any other relevant bodies, including the Supreme Court of Cyprus.  
• Merger control.
• Abuse of dominant market positions and other restrictive practices.
• Cartel investigations.
• Related damages claims.
• Regulatory and trade issues.
• Horizontal and vertical commercial agreements.