Challenge

The Port of Belgrade’s property and investor rights were being violated by arbitrary Serbian legislation. There were limited domestic channels for these rights to be rectified and the Port of Belgrade was about to lose significant holdings. It turned to Alber & Geiger for help.

Strategy

The strategy made use of the new supra-national extraterritoriality, which post-communist states have been using to reconstitute certain rights and obligations. It addressed the EU institutions and Member States while Serbia was in the process of fulfilling its obligation to attain EU candidate status. It put forward comprehensive legal analysis that employed the entirety of the acquis communautaire, helping the legal narrative of the Serbian government and that of the Commission come together in a coherent mutually beneficial form.

Results

Alber & Geiger’s lobbing activity raised the awareness of European Parliament and the Commission towards the rights violations. We persuaded the European Commission to pressure the Serbian government into changing the content of these laws and to bring them in line with the EU acquis communautaire.

Challenge

INTCO is a Chinese company and the world market leader in medical disposable gloves. The company plays a central role in securing reliable, high-quality medical supplies for hospitals, healthcare providers, and patients worldwide.

The European Commission considered applying the International Procurement Instrument (IPI), which could restrict third-country suppliers’ access to EU public tenders. For INTCO, this risked exclusion from medical procurements across the Union—threatening supply continuity, competitive pricing, and Europe’s preparedness for future health emergencies, including the next pandemic.

Strategy

Alber & Geiger engaged the European Commission and the European Parliament, and coordinated with key Member States to prevent discriminatory treatment under the IPI. We made the cross-institutional case that open competition in medical tenders strengthens supply resilience, affordability, and strategic autonomy, safeguarding the Union’s readiness for the next pandemic.

Results

INTCO preserved full access to EU procurement and maintained its ability to compete in medical tenders across Europe. European hospitals retained reliable and affordable access to essential disposable gloves and supplies—reinforcing the Union’s health security and preparedness for future crises.

Challenge

Alber & Geiger was retained by Terna, one of the leading construction companies in Greece, who was awarded the contract to construct and operate the Greek part of the 4,400km Central Motorway (E65) connecting Malmö in Sweden to Chania in Greece.

With only one section of the Greek part completed since the award of the tender, Terna relied on our support to get the approval for both the northern and southern sections of the motorway that had been pending for years under the European Commission’s State aid rules.

Strategy

Alber & Geiger targeted key officials in different Directorates of the European Commission to overcome the impasse on the State aid clearance. Alber & Geiger worked in tandem with Members of the European Parliament to gain support for the completion of the two remaining parts of the E65 motorway. We attached language that emphasised the strategic European dimension of that North-South axis through the EU, an EU project that actually had been planned for decades.

We also pointed out the contribution of the E65 motorway to competition and regional development. Moreover, we focused on the E65’s strategic importance for Greece, the South-East Europe region and the European transport road network, as well as its positive impact on jobs, tourism and investment.

Results

Our ability to combine legal, economic, social and political arguments ensured the approval of the entire project under the EU State aid rules. The European Commission cleared the funding for the construction of the southern part of the motorway. Later, the European Commission cleared the path for the construction of the northern section of the E65.