Following a prolonged financial crisis, Greece’s economic recovery has significantly progressed in recent years, leading to a resurgence in the real estate market. This revival is not just a mere uptick but a significant surge, evident in rising property prices, increased transaction volumes, and growing interest from foreign investors. Prominent areas such as Athens and Thessaloniki and popular islands like Crete, Mykonos, and Santorini have experienced a substantial increase in real estate activity.

The energy market in Greece is undergoing dynamic changes and challenges. The country is trying to adapt to the requirements of the energy transition by focusing on the development of renewable energy sources (RES) and enhancing its energy independence. At the same time, legislative developments and initiatives aim to address existing challenges and promote sustainable solutions.

Despite a slowdown experienced in the Greek M&A sector in 2023, primarily attributed to factors such as inflation, increased interest rates, pervasive geopolitical instabilities, and diverging valuation perspectives between sellers and buyers, the ongoing year of 2024 has seen a notable upsurge in transaction activity. This upward trend underscores the robustness and resilience of the market, which is not only recovering but is also attracting heightened attention from international investors.

On 1 July 2024, the long-awaited Act on Collective Civil Proceedings (the Class Actions Act) entered into force, allowing consumers and small entrepreneurs to pursue their claims in court together through a class action.

The Law on Personal Data Protection (LPDP) significantly influences the development and deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems in the Republic of Moldova. As companies increasingly adopt AI technologies, awareness and understanding of LPDP requirements application is crucial to ensure compliance and protect the rights of individuals.

In Austria, almost 1,000 units of stored blood are needed every day; in Germany, it is around 15,000 units. Blood is an important emergency medication in the event of accidents, childbirth, surgeries or serious illnesses. It has a shelf life of only 42 days and cannot be produced artificially.

Although not recognized in domestic legislation for a long time, freelancers finally saw a resolution to their long-standing battle for legal recognition of their status by the end of 2022. Amendments to the Law on Personal Income Tax (“Law”), which followed months of protests and negotiations with relevant authorities, officially established and regulated the status of this category of workers. This legal framework now clearly defines their rights and obligations in a transparent manner.

The Parliament of the Republic of Serbia recently adopted amendments to the Law on Payment Services (“Law”) that will start to apply from 6 May 2025 (“Amendments”). By the Amendments, the Law is harmonised with the EU’s PSD2. The key goal of the Amendments is the enhancement of innovations on the market and securing increased competition and transparency in the area of payment services, as well as better protection of payment services users and payment security. Below we provide an overview of the main novelties brought by the Amendments.

The use of PPP mechanisms in Ukraine is not common and has been only recently gaining momentum. Even though the Law on Concessions was adopted back in 1999 and the Law on Public-Private Partnership in 2010, these instruments have long been underestimated.

On January 11, 2024, Romania enacted significant amendments to its legislation on public-private partnerships (PPPs). While the country has had a dedicated PPP legal framework since 2002, no major infrastructure projects have been developed through this mechanism. To attract private investors and international financial institutions to participate in such projects in Romania, Government Emergency Ordinance no. 39/2018 on PPPs (GEO no. 39/2018) has been amended substantially.

Slovenia is adopting the EU’s strategy to boost renewable energy (RE) for electricity to enhance decarbonization. Unlike France’s reliance on nuclear power, Germany’s focus on renewables like wind, solar, and hydro hasn’t significantly reduced CO2 emissions, evidenced by its emissions being eight times higher than France’s.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are cooperation agreements between public and private sectors for providing public services traditionally provided by the state and funded by taxpayers. These partnerships involve sharing investments, risks, liabilities, and revenue between the parties, ensuring public welfare by addressing economic challenges in essential sectors. PPPs offer an alternative approach to traditional state-financed projects, allowing faster and more efficient construction of large-scale projects.

In 2021, a new Construction Act (No. 283/2021 Coll.) was adopted in the Czech Republic. This groundbreaking legal norm was designed to solve problems in the permitting process for infrastructure and other projects, such as lengthy administrative procedures, a cumbersome process of obtaining consents and opinions from various authorities, and often a lack of coordination among authorities, which frequently caused inconsistencies in interpreting the law as well as delays.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) offer a way to procure infrastructure and services that traditionally do not include private capital involvement with private finance participation. PPPs have been introduced as a general acknowledgment of the need to solve the infrastructure gap in many countries – especially in emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) countries. EMDE countries need to rely on private resources as a means of accelerating infrastructure development. Attractive for a high degree of flexibility in light of multiple variations across the globe regarding the scoping of a PPP, PPPs enable efficiency and high value for money.

Major infrastructure and industrial projects depend on careful government planning and resources. However, Bulgaria’s government has been in flux since 2021, with six general elections in the last four years. Nevertheless, there have been some legislative developments that could stimulate private investment in the fields of utilities, transport, postal services, energy, and industrial manufacturing.

Serbia’s booming construction sector and ongoing infrastructure projects establish it as a vital economic hub in the region. In 2023, construction works valued at over EUR 5 billion contributed around 5.5% to the national GDP. The country’s strategic location and ambitious infrastructure plans have attracted significant foreign investment. With projects like highways, railways, and energy facilities underway, Serbia is strengthening its position as a critical economic connector in Southeast Europe.

The Macedonian legislature has amended multiple laws for the purpose of introducing special rules for facilities of strategic importance, which are highly significant for the development of the infrastructure. Pursuant to the latest amendments of the Law on Spatial Planning (LSP) and the Law on Construction (LC), both of which entered into force on May 30, 2023, the “facilities of strategic importance” category includes state roads, railway lines, backbone gas pipelines, and any other facilities of public interest that are built as strategic investment projects or projects of strategic national importance.

A summary of recent legislative developments in the fields of energy and natural resources in Ukraine.