Legal Week 2015: The search for stability

Although the CEE region is still suffering from instability, several countries have seen improved economic performance, Dominic Carman reports.

In yearning for stability, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) can take some comfort from their improved economic performance, despite the surrounding turbulence and the widespread shift towards reasserting political control: national identity, borders and domestic finances being the targets. Boosted by eurozone recovery and lower oil prices, CEE growth rates in GDP this year range between 2% and 4%, providing a fillip to commercial activity for local independent firms. As in much of Europe, they’re still waiting for investment and growth to return to pre crisis levels. Moody’s forecasts GDP growth of 3.5% for Poland in 2016, the same level as this year. But following the October election, Polish lawyers are anxious about their new government’s taxation plans and the potentially damaging effect on foreign investment. “If election promises materialise, banks and fast-moving consumer goods companies may retaliate with litigation for unfair treatment,” says Rudolf Ostrihansky, managing partner at Sołtysinski Kawecki & Szlezak (SKS). He anticipates “much more state control over the economy and a decrease in legal work, especially M&A.”

Full content of the article is available in attached PDF.

Source: Legal Week, listopad 2015