With effect from 6 January 2026, an amendment to the Cybersecurity of Hungary significantly narrowed the scope of organizations subject to the NIS2 obligations.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Ukrainian economy has faced a strong need for long-term financing, both for on-going business needs and for reconstruction projects. Banks remain the primary channel of financing the real sector. At the same time, the National Bank of Ukraine (the “NBU”) has focused on keeping the banking system stable and preserving confidence in the banking sector, which in 2022–2023 meant rather strict requirements and a number of temporary restrictions.

The European Commission has recognised the regulatory disparities that exist between EU Member States and the candidate Balkan countries. To address these differences, it has identified the need to assess national legal frameworks and provide recommendations to Balkan countries for aligning them with EU standards.

Under Serbian law, acquisition of title to real estate is traditionally based on a valid legal ground (iustus titulus) and registration as the decisive act of acquisition (modus acquirendi). Registration therefore has constitutional relevance, producing erga omnes effects and enabling reliance by third parties.

A “digital nomad” is a person who works remotely using technology and combines this with travel and living in different parts of the world. Despite the decline in the remote work trend, digital nomads remain an increasing group of highly mobile experts. Up until now digital nomads could reside in Bulgaria only on short-term basis (90 days every 180 days) which is no longer the case.

January 2026 – As a result of Russia’s ongoing aggression, businesses across virtually all sectors of the Ukrainian economy have suffered severe damage and financial losses. Missile strikes, drone attacks, and other forms of hostilities affect both frontline and rear regions – and the number of impacted enterprises continues to grow on a daily basis. According to expert assessments, by mid-2025 Ukraine’s direct, documented losses incurred from the war had reached approximately USD 176 billion[1].

The Amendments to the Law on Factoring entered into force on 12 December 2025 (“Amendments”). The Amendments introduce developments in the legal and regulatory framework for factoring in Serbia, aiming to align it with international standards and best market practices, ensure compliance with AML and CTF principles, and enhance transparency and the efficient functioning of the factoring market.

Law No. 239/2025 on establishing certain measures for the recovery and optimization of public resources, and for amending and supplementing certain normative acts ("Law No. 239/2025"), part of the “Package II” of fiscal-budgetary reforms, was published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 1160 of December 15, 2025, and entered into force on December 18, 2025.

Hungary’s bespoke validation regime for crypto-asset exchanges entered into force on 27 December, making it illegal to execute crypto-to-fiat or crypto-to-crypto exchanges without a prior declaration of conformity issued by a licensed validator. The obligation stems from amendments to Hungary’s Crypto Act (Act VII of 2024) and the implementing Decree 10/2025 (X.27.) of the Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities (SARA), which together create a new, transaction-level “validation” gatekeeper for exchanges. In parallel, Hungary has adopted criminal law provisions penalising both the provision and the use of unauthorised exchange services when validation is required, sharpening legal risk for service providers and users once the regime applies.

On 20 November 2025, the Albanian Data Protection Commissioner (“Commissioner”) adopted Instruction No. 07/2025 “On the Protection of Personal Data in the Written, Electronic and/or Audiovisual Media and the Exemptions for Special Processing Purposes” (“Instruction No. 7”), a regulatory act that aims to reshape the legal relationship between freedom of expression and personal data protection in Albania.

On 24 December 2025, the latest amendment to the Government Decree on the Basic Regulations for Urban Planning and Construction Requirements (abbreviated as TÉKA in Hungarian) was enacted. This update is part of a broader legislative effort addressing the placement and permitting of wind turbines and wind farms, alongside revisions to the Electricity Act, its implementing regulations, and the Hungarian Architecture Act.

In March 2024, the European Union adopted a new set of amendments to both the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, commonly known as MiFID II, and the related Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR), as part of the Capital Markets Union agenda. The two instruments operate together and form the core of the EU framework governing trading venues, investment firms and market transparency. The latest amendments are designed to improve the availability and quality of market data, enhance market resilience during periods of stress, and simplify certain regulatory requirements that were widely viewed as inefficient in practice. While the MiFIR amendments apply directly across the EU, Member States had to transpose the revised MiFID II into national law by 29 September 2025. Hungary has adopted national measures aimed at implementing the amended directive.

The Serbian Parliament adopted the new Law on Information Security on October 22, 2025. The adoption of the new Law on Information Security is a step forward in aligning Serbian legislation with the acquis in the field of information security. The new law provides for clearer definitions of terms, introduces new terms, increases the number of ICT systems operators, and imposes stricter obligations on ICT systems operators. ICT system Operators are left 18 months to comply with their ICT systems with the new law. 

By Law No. 74/2025 dated 04.12.2025, the Assembly of the Republic of Albania has adopted a new legal framework for the implementation of extended producer responsibility, fundamentally reforming the way in which waste from products is managed after the end of their life cycle. This law constitutes one of the most significant developments in the field of environmental law and market regulation, with a direct impact on producers, importers, and economic operators placing products on the Albanian market.

Public procurement in Bulgaria has long been a battlefield between the necessity for competitive transparency and the persistent shadow of concerted practices. Among the various grounds for exclusion of economic operators, bid rigging presents a unique legal challenge. Under the Bulgarian Public Procurement Act (PPA), the intersection of antitrust findings by the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) and the procurement process creates a complex landscape where the concept of "self-cleaning" becomes the only lifeline for businesses seeking to maintain their market presence.

The Hungarian Parliament has adopted Act No. CXXXV of 2025 on the Hungarian implementation of the European Union’s Cyber Resilience Regulation and the amendment of certain cybersecurity provisions. Key changes include a modification of the scope of the law and the designation of the SzTFH (Szabályozott Tevékenységek Felügyeleti Hatósága – Supervisory Authority for Regulated Activities) as both the notifying authority and the market surveillance authority. In addition, a significant amendment was introduced to Act LX of 2025 on Certain Court Proceedings and Liquidation Concerning Legal Entities, empowering courts to temporarily prohibit chief executive officers from performing their executive duties in specific cases based on a final decision of the SzTFH.

On 3 December 2025, the EU’s General Court issued its ruling in case T‑646/24, tackling a recurring VAT challenge in cross-border EU trade: how triangular transaction rules apply when supply chains involve more than three parties.

Regulations enabling the sharing of grid connections under the "cable pooling" formula have been in force in Poland since 1 October 2023. 2024 was the first full year in which these regulations were applied. The President of the Energy Regulatory Office (URE) recently published a report summarising the monitoring of the practical use of the cable pooling mechanism throughout 2024.