In a region that has learned to live with uncertainty, Poland stands out for something refreshingly simple: results. A recent Bloomberg column by Matthew A. Winkler captured it perfectly: Poland’s GDP is about USD 915 billion and keeps compounding. Bloomberg calculates that household consumption has surged 125% since the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016; the zloty leads among 23 most-traded emerging-market currencies; Polish government bonds top Europe with over 30% total return; and the Warsaw Stock Exchange ranks among the world’s best performers so far this year. These are facts.

In our Looking In series, we talk to Partners from outside CEE who are keeping an eye on the region to learn how they perceive CEE markets and their evolution. For this issue, we reached out to new Jones Day Partner Veronica Dragalin, who recently joined the firm’s Washington office after working as the Chief Anti-Corruption Prosecutor in Moldova since 2022.

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: What is the one most time-consuming administrative task for you as a Managing Partner, and what, if anything, have you done to try to minimize time spent on it?

CEE is increasingly on the radar for businesses looking for efficient and cost-effective dispute resolution. Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii Partner Cornel Popa, PRK Partners Associate Partner Michal Sylla, and Avellum Partner Oleksii Maslov discuss which hubs are leading the way, the challenges they face, and the opportunities shaping the region’s arbitration landscape.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s cross-hatched legal map covering the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska, and the Brcko District forces counsel to marry country-wide coordination with entity-specific nuance. DMB Partners Managing Partner Dina Durakovic, Dimitrijevic & Partners Senior Partner Stevan Dimitrijevic, and IA Law Firm Managing Partner Adi Ibrahimovic walk us through how they staff matters, steer incorporation choices, pick governing law and forums, and keep closings on schedule despite shifting administrative sands.

As Bosnia and Herzegovina advances EU-alignment and energy transition priorities, mandates have broadened across compliance, projects, and cross-border deals. Maric & Co Partner Bojana Bosnjak-London and Sijercic & Partners Senior Partner Nihad Sijercic discuss where the work is coming from, who’s investing, what’s slowing things down, and how the outlook is shaping up.

For the first time, CEE Legal Matters turns its spotlight on Georgia, examining a market that has changed dramatically over the past three decades. From the early days of small local offices to today’s mix of international and domestic players, we look at what has shaped Georgia’s legal landscape.

Reflecting on his path from a fascination with aircraft landings to leading Sarajevo International Airport’s legal team, Sarajevo International Airport Head of Legal Berin Ridjanovic discusses the complexities of air law, managing expansion projects, working with external counsel, and navigating EU regulatory alignment.

An in-depth look at Stevan Dimitrijevic of Dimitrijevic & Partners, covering his career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer, as well as a few insights about him as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.

An in-depth look at Sandro Bibilashvili of BGI Legal, covering his career path, education, and top projects as a lawyer, as well as a few insights about him as a manager at work and as a person outside the office.

The legislative landscape on insolvency in Kosovo has undergone substantial changes with the Law No. 08/L-256 on Bankruptcy (Law on Bankruptcy), which, beyond modernizing domestic procedures, regulates cross-border bankruptcy in line with international standards such as the EU Insolvency Regulation (2015/848). Through such changes, Kosovo moves closer toward protecting cross-border assets and creditors, providing for a better climate for further economic development.

After several relatively calm years, corporate bankruptcies in Slovenia trended upward during 2024 and into 2025. The Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia reports that in July 2025, bankruptcies were 60% higher than in July 2024, indicating a clear upward trend.

A comprehensive Bulgarian close-out netting law was promulgated on August 15, 2025. It is structured as an amendment and supplement to the Financial Collateral Arrangements Act (Amendment), which transposed the EU Financial Collateral Directive 2002/47/EC (FCD) in Bulgaria. To reflect its broader scope, the title of the act was also changed to the Financial Collateral and Close-out Netting Arrangements Act (Act).

In the past two years, the Czech Republic has undergone the most significant transformation of its insolvency and restructuring framework since 2006. The recent changes fundamentally alter options for businesses, individuals, and creditors on how to navigate financial distress to align with EU requirements, prioritizing preventive solutions as well as practical market needs; in particular, as a reaction to the increasing number of individuals falling into a debt spiral.

The Slovak economy is facing a difficult period. With public finances under pressure and the government pursuing consolidation, the investment climate is deteriorating. Foreign direct investment has slowed significantly, with Slovakia not being regionally competitive anymore. Globally, geopolitical tensions, disrupted supply chains, and energy volatility have left businesses struggling to adapt. These macroeconomic headwinds are now translating into sectoral distress. Slovakia’s automotive industry, which forms the backbone of Slovak industrial output and employment, is highly exposed to the global trends, declining demand, overcapacity, and cost pressures. At the same time, retail, transportation, construction, and energy are showing signs of strain. Insolvencies of Slovak businesses are likely to rise in both number and complexity. In my view, the Slovak insolvency framework, unfortunately, is not fit to effectively absorb these developments.

Austria is currently experiencing its longest recession since World War II. Both external factors, meaning volatile energy prices, geopolitical tensions, as well as trade uncertainties, and internal causes, primarily the absence of a federalism reform, high part-time employment, early retirement, and a significant part of the population being net beneficiaries of the welfare system, have led to this structural decline. A significant concern is the deindustrialization of Austria’s economy, which has resulted in a major increase in insolvencies and restructurings.

For years, Montenegrin insolvency practice has been facing a recurring problem: companies that would stop performing their business activities and fail to submit annual financial statements to the tax administration could not conduct a liquidation process. These companies were effectively blocked from liquidation unless they could demonstrate that all tax obligations had been settled. In practice, this was unattainable because the tax administration treated missing statements as evidence of possible outstanding liabilities and debts.

The European insolvency landscape is undergoing a period of intense transformation, driven by EU-level legislative initiatives and national responses to disruptions – most notably the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.