North Macedonia’s legal and business landscape is entering a period of renewed momentum, with several structural trends converging at once, according to DDK Managing Partner Dragan Dameski.
"Several themes stand out at the moment," Dameski begins, highlighting the "broader economic environment, significant sector-specific trends, particularly in energy and construction, and the rapid rise of legal tech and AI in day-to-day legal practice. While none of these are entirely new, their scale and market impact today are unprecedented."
Over the past few months, local municipal elections slowed activity somewhat as businesses paused decisions during the political process, as Dameski reports. "Now that the election cycle is over, every municipality has new leadership. Combined with the fact that the government coalition, which has been in place for a year and a half, also dominated the local elections, this alignment across all levels of authority creates the conditions for more coherent policy direction, particularly regarding investment, finance, and infrastructure," he explains.
Focusing on the overall economic climate, Dameski says that North Macedonia has had a difficult stretch since the pandemic, and recovery was slower than initially hoped. "Still, FDI continues to come in, and some sectors are performing exceptionally well. The energy sector, in particular, is booming. Green energy investment has increased by nearly 50%, with major projects across wind, solar, hydro, and, importantly, gas," he reports. "We have a few major gas infrastructure projects running simultaneously, notably the Greece and Serbia interconnection efforts, also known as part of the EU Corridor 10 network. And looking forward, hydrogen as an energy source is attracting significant strategic attention."
According to Dameski, this surge in energy investment is spilling over into construction and infrastructure. "The construction industry as a whole is highly active, not only because of energy-linked projects but also due to major commercial and residential development as well. In the past year alone, real estate prices have risen by nearly 50% year-on-year." As he says, developers remain confident that the market still has room for growth.
In terms of corporate and transactional work, Dameski reports that M&A has normalized after the stagnation during COVID. "We still haven’t seen very large landmark transactions recently, but the pipeline is healthy, and several deals are in advanced stages. One of the most significant ongoing projects is the takeover of a local bank by a regional Serbian bank, an important development for the financial sector." At the same time, Dameski says that the competition and antitrust authorities have been very active, and lawyers are closely watching recent procedural trends.
"Another major milestone is North Macedonia’s accession to SEPA as of October 2025. This will significantly streamline payments between North Macedonia and Europe, making financial operations easier for both businesses and banks and improving integration with global markets," Dameski posits.
Beyond energy and finance, Dameski reports that transportation and rail infrastructure are gaining momentum. "The government has signed several memoranda of cooperation with neighboring countries and with the UK to support rail modernization. This is expected to become a hot sector in the coming years as projects move from planning into execution."
Finally, Dameski mentions that lawyers are abuzz about legal tech and AI. "This is perhaps the most transformative development within the legal profession itself. For the first time, AI is not just a curiosity but a mainstream topic dominating discussions across the entire market," Dameski says. "There is broad acceptance that AI is here to stay, and the conversation has moved far beyond experimental or surface-level use. Notably, North Macedonia already has two local providers of AI platforms serving the business and legal community. Law firms are actively exploring how to integrate AI into workflow, document automation, knowledge management, and research."
