CEE Compass 2026 Executive Summary
Steering the Conversation on Ukraine's Reconstruction
Bucharest, 7 May 2026
In May, Schoenherr hosted the third edition of its international CEE Compass conference at the historic Central University Library Carol I in Bucharest — a building founded in 1895 and rebuilt after suffering extensive damage during the Romanian Revolution of 1989, standing today as a testament to resilience, rebuilding and progress.
The half-day event brought together senior representatives from international financial institutions, private equity funds, major energy and infrastructure companies, and legal experts for an in-depth exchange on the legal, economic and financing frameworks required to mobilise private and institutional capital at scale.
"For 30 years, Schoenherr has advised the private sector through every stage of Romania's transition, from post-communism reforms to EU accession and beyond. We hope that Romania and other neighbouring countries will be able to contribute this experience to Ukraine's post-war rebuilding efforts."
Sebastian Gutiu
Office Managing Partner at Schoenherr Romania
"Ukraine's reconstruction will be one of Europe's defining projects of the coming decade. As a firm deeply rooted in CEE, we see it as our responsibility to help shape the legal and commercial frameworks that will enable meaningful, long-term investment."
Alexander Popp
Managing Partner of Schoenherr
The conference was guided throughout by Tatiana Iurkovska, Head of Schoenherr's Ukrainian Desk, who accompanied the day’s programme — steering the conversation across five panels and connecting institutional perspectives with on-the-ground realities. For Iurkovska, the event was both professional and deeply personal:
"Today's discussion is both professional and personal for me — as Head of the Ukrainian Desk at Schoenherr and as a Ukrainian national. I know how quickly things can change and how difficult rebuilding them can be. Rebuilding is not only about capital and funding — it's primarily about trust: trust in institutions, in legal frameworks, and in the long-term direction of the country. And I believe Ukraine already has these elements in place."
Tatiana Iurkovska
Head of Schoenherr's Ukrainian Desk
It was Iurkovska who set the day's intellectual framework: an established private sector, deep international engagement, and a clear path towards European integration — not as abstract ambitions, but as elements to be tested and validated across five substantive panels.
A Wartime Economy of Remarkable Resilience
The World Bank's latest Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment puts direct war damages at nearly USD 200 billion and total reconstruction needs at USD 588 billion — with over 40 per cent bankable by the private sector. But the story beneath the headline is one of defiance. Joining live from Kyiv, World Bank Lead Economist Yue Man Lee described an economy that has maintained positive growth throughout a full-scale war:
"To have positive growth despite the war, despite these energy challenges, I think is actually quite remarkable. This is a wartime economy, and the economy actually is one that is quite remarkably resilient."
Yue Man Lee
World Bank Lead Economist
That resilience is being matched by an unprecedented reform effort. Discussions highlighted the importance of predictable frameworks, credible risk-mitigation instruments and early alignment with EU standards — a process the European Commission's Sam Weinberg called historic in scope:
"Some of these reforms that we're asking Ukraine to do, it took current member states years or even decades to discuss, digest, and implement. Ukraine is attempting to do that at warp speed during wartime."
Sam Weinberg
European Commission
The OECD's Fianna Jurdant reinforced that corporate governance is not an afterthought — it is the foundation of investor confidence:
"Companies need to understand why strong corporate governance is not just a compliance issue, but a critical factor to ensure credibility and attract investment."
Fianna Jurdant
OECD
Don't Rebuild — Redesign
Energy and infrastructure emerged as core priorities, but the ambition goes beyond restoration. George Agafitei of PPC Romania argued that Ukraine should leapfrog legacy systems entirely:
"Why Romania has one of the fastest internet speeds in the world is because we skipped some steps — we went from copper wire directly to optical fibre. Ukraine has the opportunity to do the same in energy: learn from our mistakes and our bureaucracy, and skip those mistakes."
George Agafitei
PPC Romania
Rebecca Steinacher of Wien Energie described how her company is exploring the potential for green hydrogen production in Ukraine, leveraging its vast open land, fresh water, and an existing gas-pipeline corridor to Austria:
"What do you need for green and cheap hydrogen? You need large-scale renewables, and this is given in Ukraine. You have open land, you need fresh water, and you need the possibility for transportation.."
Rebecca Steinacher
Wien Energie
But one constraint looms above all others. Petru Ruset of Siemens Energy was direct:
"The bottleneck is the grid. The first thing to be started and rebuilt should be the grid. Having a stable grid, all the projects are capable of being started and planned in the right manner."
Petru Ruset
Siemens Energy
The People Who Stayed
Behind the macro data and deal flow, the most powerful testimony came from those running businesses inside Ukraine. Adela Bradu of CRH/Romcim shared thatCRH has continuously invested since the full-scale invasion — a testimony of commitment to Ukraine and the trust in the country’s future:
"It goes beyond words, it goes to doing and to demonstrating. We all have to work together with the institutions, with the European Commission, with everyone in order to support and rebuild Ukraine."
Adela Bradu
CRH/Romcim
Natalie Polischuk of Dobrobut described contingency plans for evacuating ICU patients and a board decision in August 2022 to resume capital investment. Her message was unequivocal:
"People are at the centre of everything. Your people are the ones making fast decisions, taking responsibility. Human-centric is no longer an initiative or a slogan — you have to live by this."
Natalie Polischuk
Dobrobut
And Vitalii Ovsiiuk of the European Business Association challenged hesitant investors with a line borrowed from Mike Tyson:
"Everyone has a plan until he gets punched in the face. If you can be resilient to any changes, to any unforeseen issues, you can be successful in this market for sure."
Vitalii Ovsiiuk
European Business Association
Capital Is Already in Motion
The investment community is not waiting. Vasile Tofan of Horizon Capital — Ukraine's largest domestic fund manager — reported funds ranking in the global top 5 per cent on distributions, with landmark deals closing after the start of the full-scale invasion : raising two new funds for a combined USD 700 million, delivering on exits, with a USD 1.5 billion telecom transaction and a SaaS company valued at USD 1.2 billion, while closing eight new investments. His advice to sceptics was characteristically sharp:
"I calculated that the risk of dying in an Uber in London is about 100 times larger than the risk of being hit by a rocket in Kyiv. The best thing you can do is actually go to the market and spend some time there."
Vasile Tofan
Horizon Capital
Edward Randolph of Amber Infrastructure announced a USD 200 million reconstruction fund and appointment as preferred manager for the EU's flagship Ukrainian infrastructure vehicle of up to EUR 1 billion. Cristina Harea of Diligent Capital Partners described her fund's focus on agribusiness and tech — two sectors where Ukraine is already producing global players:
"Your partner becomes even more critically important. In happy times, it matters — but in bad times, it matters even more. Agility of the team, flexibility, ability to adapt to different situations."
Cristina Harea
Diligent Capital Partners
Sophisticated Financing Structures and Strong Public-Private Partnerships
Victoria Zinchuk, EBRD Director for Romania, reported more than EUR 9 billion invested in Ukraine since the war began, with a commitment of EUR 3 billion annually. Her message to the room was direct:
"If and when Ukrainian reconstruction starts, it's an opportunity for Europe to start booming."
Victoria Zinchuk
EBRD Director for Romania
Yannis Kyriakopoulos, CEO of Piraeus Bank Ukraine, described a market transitioning from short-term working capital to longer-term investment lending — a signal that confidence is building. Nataliia Pashchenko of Raiffeisen Bank International reframed the financing question entirely:
"The capital and the financing is not the crucial issue. The crucial thing is readiness of the projects to be financed. As soon as projects are ready, banks will increase their limits and find the solutions."
Nataliia Pashchenko
Raiffeisen Bank International
CEE's Own Transformation as a Blueprint
Schoenherr's own experts from across the region contributed as moderators and speakers, drawing on three decades of CEE transition experience. Paweł Halwa, Office Managing Partner Poland, identified the single factor that drove the region's rise:
"You needed truly independent market supervisory authorities, a truly independent competition authority, courts that people trust in. That was the single strongest impulse for the growth we have seen over the past 30 years."
Paweł Halwa
Office Managing Partner Poland
Ivana Panić, Partner in Belgrade, offered a candid counterpoint from the post-Yugoslav experience:
"If Ukraine is going to avoid repeating the issues that we are having, then it should be smarter. We're so smart after 26 years — maybe in five or ten more, we will be somewhere smarter."
Ivana Panić
Partner in Belgrade
And Matei Florea, Partner in Bucharest, connected the dots across the firm's footprint:
"There's a lot that CEE can contribute. Poland is the champion at attracting EU funds; Romania has deep experience in municipal infrastructure financing; Austria has the banks doing the syndicated deals. That experience can get it done quicker and better from the outset."
Matei Florea
Partner in Bucharest
Alfred Amann, Partner in Vienna, urged foreign investors entering high-risk markets to team up with local partners or DFIs, structuring joint ventures with robust protections and international arbitration:
"While in a stable market it may be good for any foreign investor to fly solo, it's a completely different question in a high-risk market like Ukraine. Team up with a local partner or a DFI, and put in place a legal framework that protects both parties."
Alfred Amann
Partner in Vienna
Bianca Duca, Attorney at Law, flagged that Ukraine's pending FDI screening legislation will affect the very sectors most in need of investment — but framed it within a wider opportunity:
"Despite my looming gloom perspective on FDI screening, the EU accession comes with a lot of opportunities. The funds that took the risk to invest now, if they have a five- to ten-year horizon, will exit in a hopefully completely different world — a more stable, much more investor-friendly environment."
Bianca Duca
Attorney at Law
A Shared Aspiration
As Tatiana Iurkovska drew the conference to its close, she returned to the theme she had established at the outset — that reconstruction is ultimately about trust, institutions, and collective will. Her closing words captured both the day's ambition and the firm's commitment:
"With joint efforts, we can build a country which is more transparent, more credible, and more integrated into Europe."
Tatiana Iurkovska
Head of Schoenherr's Ukrainian Desk
It was a fitting conclusion from the person who had woven the day together — connecting Kyiv to Bucharest, institutions to investors, macro frameworks to human stories. For Iurkovska, reconstruction is not an abstract policy exercise. It is personal. And as the conference made clear, the most effective way to honour that is to start now.
press release
Schoenherr CEE Compass 2026: Steering the conversation on Ukraine's reconstruction
In May, Schoenherr hosted the third edition of its international CEE Compass conference in Bucharest, bringing together senior representatives from international financial institutions, private equity funds, major energy and infrastructure companies, and legal experts for a half-day exchange on Ukraine's post war reconstruction. Held at the historic Central University Library Carol I, the event focused on the legal, economic and financing frameworks required to mobilise private and institutional capital at scale.