As Brussels adopts one of the most ambitious environmental regulations in recent years, Albania once again finds itself at a familiar crossroads. The country faces pressure to align but still lacks the institutional capacity and market readiness to act meaningfully.

Former Deloitte Legal Senior Managing Associate Ened Topi has joined Lalaj & Partners as a Partner.

Albania’s start to 2025 has been largely shaped by national elections, which have stalled most developments, according to Hoxha, Memi & Hoxha Partner Dorant Ekmekciu. The focus has been on key judicial appointments and ongoing discussions about the independence of the anti-corruption body.

CMS has advised a consortium of investors, including APG, on the spin-off of select designer outlet mall assets from the European Outlet Mall Fund into a newly formed pan-European joint venture valued at approximately EUR 3 billion.

Kinstellar has advised PPF Group and its shareholders on their agreement with ForteBank for the sale of 100% of Home Credit Bank Kazakhstan and its associated businesses.

By Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/1197, published on Friday, 20 June 2025, the European Commission decided to exclude companies from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from public contracts for medical devices. This applies to contracts with an estimated value of more than five million euros. Furthermore, no more than 50% of the contract value may be passed on to Chinese companies.

Contributed by Arzinger

The commercial legal markets of Central & Eastern Europe didn’t appear automatically. They didn’t develop in a vacuum. They were formed, shaped, and led, by lawyers – visionary, hard-working, commercially-minded, and client-focused individuals pulling the development of CEE’s legal markets along behind them as they labored relentlessly for their clients, their careers, their futures. 

Gecic Law has successfully represented Arena Channels Group, alongside BH Telecom and Mtel Banja Luka, in an antitrust dispute before the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

In The Corner Office, we ask Managing Partners at law firms across Central and Eastern Europe about their backgrounds, strategies, and responsibilities. This time around, we asked: For 2025, what is the one sector or industry in the country that shows the most promise for growth, and why?

Big law firms can coast on boring slogans. They’ve got the clout, the infrastructure, and the impressive list of past clients to do the talking. But if you’re a smaller firm and your website sounds like everyone else’s, you are disappearing into the beige background of legal marketing noise.

On 1 July 2025, the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) regulating the new provisions in Chapters Thirty-Six ‘Issuance of a Writ of Execution’ and Thirty-Seven ‘Order for Payment Proceedings’ came into force, after the original date was postponed by one year. Also on 1 July 2025, the amendments to Regulation No. N-2 of 18 February 2020, issued by the Minister of Justice, came into force.

Schoenherr has advised Exadel on its acquisition of the IT business of Anthill. Tzvetkova, Tzvetkov & Dobreva advised Anthill.

Given the growth of the Bulgarian pharmaceutical retail sector, it is essential to understand the legal framework governing the operation of pharmacies, drugstores, cosmetics counters and optical retailers. Each of these types of businesses is subject to specific regulatory requirements designed to safeguard public health, ensure quality control and maintain compliance with both national and EU legislation.

Wolf Theiss, working with Arendt, has advised Studenac on securing a EUR 300 million loan facility from a consortium of banks led by Bank Pekao and including Powszechny Zaklad Ubezpieczen, OTP Banka, Zagrebacka Banka, and OTP Bank Plc Hungary. DTB and Clifford Chance advised the financial institutions.

Divjak Topic Bahtijarevic & Krka, working with Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, has advised funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and Blue Owl on a USD 520 million senior secured direct lending facility provided to Infobip. Latham & Watkins reportedly advised Infobip.

Schoenherr has advised CRH on its acquisition of the stone materials production business of Croatia’s Kufner Group. Madirazza & Partners advised Kufner Group.

Radovan Hrisny has joined Havel & Partners as Security Director.

Wolf Theiss has advised Sibelco Group on its acquisition of Envy Recycling, SPL Recycling, SPL Servis, and CEEK.

Eversheds Sutherland, with Stephenson Harwood, has advised CITIC Group on the sale of Invia Group SE by European Bridge Travel, a joint venture between CITIC Group and Rockaway Capital, to WP Holding. Clifford Chance advised European Bridge Travel. BBH advised Rockaway. White & Case reportedly advised WP Holding. 

Greece-based FNG Law Firm has joined Drakopoulos with Petros Fragkiskos and Konstantinos Nikolakopoulos Giannidis becoming Drakopoulos Equity Partners and Achilleas Papadopoulos joining as Partner. 

Koutalidis has advised ABO Energy on the sale of ABO Hellas, along with six affiliated entities and a 1.5-gigawatt renewable energy portfolio, to Helleniq Renewables.

Bernitsas has advised the Vivartia Group on the sale of 100% of its shares in Dodoni, held through Nutrico, to Hellenic Dairies.

Elementz Legal has advised Bubblify International on its acquisition of 22 OXO-brand shopping center retail locations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

KCG Partners has promoted Krisztian Kiralyvolgyi as Partner.

The Government of Hungary expects all investments to comply with the strictest environmental standards. Should companies fail to meet these requirements, fines will be imposed under the "polluter pays" principle. The new penalty regulation distinguishes between private individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations.

Sorainen has advised Tallinna Lauluvaljak, the owner and operator of the Tallinn Song Festival Grounds, on the review and update of its standard contractual documentation.

Ellex has advised Baltic venture capital fund Superangel on its investment in Kraken Technology Group.

Sorainen has advised Summus Capital on its EUR 30 million bond issuance.

Kosovo is in political limbo after the February elections, with stalled government formation affecting key decisions, according to Ardian Rexha, an Attorney at Law associated with Deloitte Kosova. At the same time, energy reforms and price hikes by the regulator are causing strong reactions from businesses and the public.

Kosovo is accelerating its energy transition, SEPA integration, and corporate transparency, aligning with EU standards to boost investment, competition, and economic stability, according to Nallbani Law Office Managing Partner Delvina Nallbani.

On the evening of April 1, 2025, the Deal of the Year Awards Banquet brought together, under the same roof, over 200 top-tier lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe's leading law firms and General Counsel from across the region in Prague.

Sorainen has advised Danish Sun Energy on the sale of a large-scale co-located solar and battery energy storage project in Latvia to Sunotec.

Cobalt, working alongside Holland & Knight, has advised Redwire Corporation on its USD 925 million acquisition of Edge Autonomy Intermediate Holdings LLC and its subsidiaries. Richards, Layton & Finger reportedly advised the special committee of the Board of Directors of Redwire. Kirkland & Ellis reportedly advised Edge Autonomy.

Sorainen has advised PurpleGreen Capital on the launch of a new alternative investment fund manager and the establishment of an alternative investment fund headquartered in Latvia, within the EU regulatory framework.

Sorainen, working with Horten, has advised Danish fish product producer A. Espersen and its Lithuanian subsidiary Espersen Lietuva on the sale of a fish processing plant located in the Klaipeda Free Economic Zone to Atlas Premium Lietuva. Cobalt advised Atlas Premium.

Ellex has advised Robinhood on establishing its European hub in Lithuania.

Walless has advised Traxlo on raising EUR 1.6 million in funding to support the expansion of its AI-driven, pay-per-task labor platform across Europe. Tegos reportedly advised Coinvest as the lead investor.

With the adoption of a new legislative solution in the Republic of North Macedonia, introduced through the Law on Labour Engagement of Persons, which shall enter into force on 1 January 2026, a systemic and coherent framework will be established for the regulation of temporary and seasonal labour engagement. The primary objective of this law is to formalize a segment of the labour market that, to date, has remained largely unregulated or informal, with particular focus placed on three sectors: agriculture, hospitality, and domestic services.

Karanovic & Partners has advised Paysera North Macedonia on obtaining an Electronic Money Institution license.

Foreign direct investment in North Macedonia has surged in recent years, with 2024 marking a particularly strong period for inflows, despite global uncertainties such as supply-chain disruptions and regional economic slowdowns, according to Law Office Lazarov Managing Partner Dragan Lazarov and Cakmakova Advocates Junior Partner Vladimir Bocevski.

In The Debrief, our Practice Leaders across CEE share updates on recent and upcoming legislation, consider the impact of recent court decisions, showcase landmark projects, and keep our readers apprised of the latest developments impacting their respective practice areas.

Moldova’s legal landscape is undergoing a period of gradual yet meaningful transformation, according to Balaban & Partners Managing Partner Natalia Balaban who reports an increased reliance on alternative dispute resolution, strides in digitalization, and a wave of legislative reforms tied to the country’s EU accession ambitions.

On 17 March 2025, a new Regulation of the Moldovan Competition Council (the "MCC") on Economic Concentrations (the "New EC Regulation") entered into force in Moldova (as secondary legislation). It introduces several key changes aimed at enhancing the enforcement of competition legislation and increasing transparency. The New EC Regulation transposes several European Union regulations, including the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/914 of 20 April 2023 and the Commission Notice on a simplified treatment for certain concentrations 2023/C 160/01.

Kinstellar, working alongside Noerr, has advised Strabag on the Romanian, Croatian, Czech, and Montenegrin aspects of its EUR 100 million acquisition of WTE Wassertechnik from EVN. Freshfields advised EVN.

The Ministry of Economic Development has conducted a public consultation on the draft Law on Class Actions. The primary reason for adopting a special law which regulates matters related to the collective protection of consumers is, above all, the harmonization of Montenegrin legislation with EU law, specifically with Directive (EU) 2020/1828 on representative actions for the protection of the collective interests of consumers and repealing Directive 2009/22/EC. The goal is to prevent and sanction mass violations of consumer rights by traders in the market, while also ensuring fair compensation for harmed consumers. In this text, we briefly present the most important amendments and innovations introduced by the draft Law on Class Actions.

Injac Attorneys has advised Build Your Dreams on its market entry into Serbia and Montenegro.

Diana Tavera and Marcin Beben have become Equity Partners at Kochanski & Partners.

White & Case has advised UniCredit on the PLN 660 million (approximately EUR 154.4 million) financing extended to Modivo, a subsidiary of CCC.

Allen Overy Shearman Sterling has advised Polenergia subsidiaries Amon and Talia on the refinancing of their existing credit facilities. Kycia Legal reportedly advised Bank Pekao.

Pop & Partners has advised Guris Holding on an EPC contract with Simtel for the development of a large-scale battery energy storage system in Romania.

Dentons has advised NEPI Rockcastle and its subsidiary NE Property on securing two revolving sustainability-linked credit facilities totaling EUR 290 million. CMS reportedly advised the lenders.

Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii has secured the admission of a revision against a final judgment ordering the dissolution of the Bucharest Municipal Football Association, as well as the definitive rejection of the applications for dissolution of the association.

Contributed by Clifford Chance.

Contributed by Alrud.

The commercial legal markets of Central & Eastern Europe didn’t appear automatically. They didn’t develop in a vacuum. They were formed, shaped, and led, by lawyers – visionary, hard-working, commercially-minded, and client-focused individuals pulling the development of CEE’s legal markets along behind them as they labored relentlessly for their clients, their careers, their futures. 

Moravcevic Vojnovic and Partners in Cooperation with Schoenherr has advised UniCredit Bank Serbia and Structured Invest on the establishment of UniCredit Invest JSC, a UCITS management company licensed in Serbia.

Kinstellar has advised Banca Intesa on the issuance of collateral-free mini-bonds in Serbia in a transaction valued at RSD 470 million, arranged for Diopta.

NKO Partners has advised Dr Max on its acquisition of Zalfija.

Kinstellar has advised PPF Group and its shareholders on their agreement with ForteBank for the sale of 100% of Home Credit Bank Kazakhstan and its associated businesses.

Elementz Legal has advised Bubblify International on its acquisition of 22 OXO-brand shopping center retail locations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary.

Dentons has advised YIT Zwirn 2 – a joint venture between YIT Slovakia and RSJ Investments – on a syndicated loan exceeding EUR 100 million for the financing of Zwirn 2 real estate development in Bratislava. Allen Overy Sherman Sterling reportedly advised the banks.

Fatur Menard has advised Interexport on the sale of its Inter Agrar division to Heinrich Schroeder Landmaschinen. Sole practitioner Pavla Bolner reportedly advised Heinrich Schroeder Landmaschinen.

The protection against the termination of employment contracts for disabled workers who still have residual working capacity is guaranteed both by the Employment Relationships Act (ZDR-1) and the Employment Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons Act (ZZRZI). Despite relatively uniform case law that has developed over the years, two recent rulings from the Higher Labor and Social Court have set new, stricter criteria for assessing the justification of dismissal reasons, which raise numerous dilemmas among employers in practice.

CMS has advised Eleport on its market entry into Croatia and Slovenia.

Turkish lawyer Meltem Azbazdar has been appointed as Diageo's General Counsel Europe based in London.

Kolcuoglu Demirkan Kocakli has promoted Neyzar Unubol and Begum Bicer Ilikay to Partner.

Erdem & Erdem, working with Cuatrecasas, has advised Corex Holding on the acquisition of South32 Limited’s interest in Cerro Matoso. Freshfields advised South32.

Sayenko Kharenko has advised the European Fund for Southeast Europe on the provision of a EUR 20 million loan through its Ukraine Sub-Fund to Ukrgasbank. 

On 27 June 2025, the President of Ukraine signed decree No. 422/2025 enacting the decision of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (“NSDC”) “On Synchronisation of Sanctions Pressure of Ukraine, the European Union and Other Members of the Group of Seven on the Russian Federation and Related Entities”, dated the same day (“Decision”).

Sayenko Kharenko has advised the ad hoc committee of noteholders on the consent solicitation process relating to DTEK Energy’s senior secured PIK toggle Eurobonds.