WT/REG226/R/I  
 
9 October 2017  
(17-5346) Page: 1/9 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements  Original: English  
 
 
EU-ALBANIA IMPLEMENTATI ON REPORT  
 
JOINT SUBMISSION BY THE PARTIES ON THE S TABILISATION AND ASS OCIATION 
AGREEMENT BETWEEN AL BANIA AND THE EU  
 This Implementation Report has been drafted in accordance with Article 15 of the 
Transparency Mechanism Decision and following the draft guidelines contained in JOB/REG/4 
issued in January 2013.  
 
 This report does not prejudge the Parties' position on the concept and the duration of the 
implementati on periods in FTAs and their relationship to the "reasonable length of time" within the 
meaning of Art. XXIV:5(c) of the GATT 1994 or "the reasonable time -frame" within Art. V:1(b) of 
the GATS.  
 
 
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1  BACKGROUND INFORMATI ON ON THE AGREEMENT  
1.1.  All countries of the Western Balk ans have a European perspective . The European perspective 
of the Western Balkan countries  and territories  was recognised during the Feira European Council 
in 2000 and confirmed by the Thessaloniki European Council in 2003. T his European perspective1 
is integrated into the Stabilisation and Association Process, which is the EU's policy in relation to 
the countries of the Western Balkans.  
1.2.  The Stabilisation and Association Agreements (SAAs), which the EU has progressively 
conclu ded with the countries and territories of the Western Balkans, are tools which provide for the 
economic development and political stabilisation of the countries in the region, and for the creation 
of a close, long -term association between the EU and the We stern Balkans.  The SAAs constitute 
the legal instrument for alignment1 to the EU acquis and progressive integration into the EU 
market.  
1.3.  The S tabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) between the EU and Albania  was signed 
on 12 June 2006. With reference to trade in goods, it was complemented by an Interim Agreement 
that entered into force on 1 December 2006 to allow the EU and Albania to benefit from the trade 
and trade -related provisions until the entry into force of the Stabilisation and Association 
Agreement on 1 April 2009. After the last two enlargements, the 2+1 new EU Member States 
(Bulgaria + Romania and Croatia) became contracting parties in 2007 and 2013 respectively.  
1.4.  The SAA contains provisions on both goods and services.  The relevant aspects of the SAA for 
the liberali sation of trade in services are contained in Title V (Movement of  Workers, 
Establishment, Supply of Services, Current Payments and Movement of Capital).  The last version 
of the consolidated text of the SAA  is the following one:  
                                                
1 Each year the Commission adopts its "Enlargement package" - a set of documents explaining its policy 
on EU enlargement. Most importantly, this package includes  the Enlargement Strategy Paper  which sets out 
the way forward and takes stock of the progress made by each candidate country and potential candidate. In 
addition to this strategy paper, the package contains the Reports in which the Commission services pre sent 
their assessment of what each candidate and potential candidate has achieved over the last year, and set out 
guidelines on reform priorities.  WT/REG226/R/I  
 
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  http://eur -lex.europa.eu/legal -
content/EN/TXT/?qid=1495181232594&uri=CELEX:02009A0428(02) -20150501  
1.5.  Statistical data on trade in goods and on tr ade in services between the Parties as well as 
some indications on Parties' import coverage after full implementation of the SAA can be found in 
Annexes 1 -4 of this report.  
2  PROVISIONS ON TRADE IN GOODS  
2.1  Import duties and charges, and quantitative restricti ons 
2.1.  Trade liberalisation  between the EU and Albania has been completed over a maximum period 
of five years.  More specifically, imports into the EU  of all industrial and most agricultural goods 
originating in Albania were totally liberalised from the entry into force of the Agreement.  Only 
imports into the EU of some fishery products originating in Albania were subject to a tariff 
reduction over a period of two years and one month (Annex III). Import of processed agricultural 
products originating in EU is li beralized in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 2, Annex I.   
2.2.  Imports into Albania  of industrial products originating in the EU were liberalised from the 
entry into force of the Agreement except for goods listed in Annex I which were liberalised ov er a 
period of four  years. Some a gricultural  (Annex II)  and processed agricultural products  [Protocol 2, 
Annex II(a), Annex II(b), Annex II(c)]  were also subject to gradual  liberalisation period over a 
period of four years , whereas some others were liberalised from the entry into force of the 
Agreement .  
2.3.  In addition, some goods as explained further below were subject to Tariff Rate Quotas and  
some of them excluded of any tariff preferences.  
2.4.  During this implementation period, no change was made to th e original liberalization 
schedules.  
2.1.1   Tariffs  
2.5.  Please refer to Annexes I to III  of the Agreement:  
 EU's tariff elimination schedule:  
Annex III (fish and fishery products)  
 
  Albania's tariff elimination schedule:  
Annex I, for chapters 25 to 97 of the Combine d Nomenclature  
Annex II, for certain agricultural products  
2.1.2   Tariff quotas  
2.6.  The tariff rate quotas that are in place under the Agreement have been applied as of its entry 
into force, in accordance with the conditions mentioned in Article 27, in Annex II(c), Annex III, 
Annex II(d) of Protocol 2 and Annex I of Protocol 3 of the Agreement . These quotas are managed 
on a first -come first -served basis. In particular:  
a. The EU introduced  tariff-rate quotas on sugar products (Article 27); wine (Annex I of 
Protoc ol 3); and some fish and fishery products (Annex III).  
b. Albania ope ned tariff -rate quotas on some milk and cream products, common wheat and 
meslin  seed, spelt and maize (Annex II(c)); on sauces (Annex II(d) of Protocol 2) and on 
wine (Annex I of Protocol 3).  
2.7.  Since the entry into force of the Agreement, there were no particular issues to report on and 
no changes were made to the Agreement in this ar ea. The Agreement has been amended to take 
into account the last two enlargements of the EU in 2007 and 2013.  WT/REG226/R/I  
 
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  2.1.3   Products excluded from liberalization  
2.8.  In the Agreement, the EU has liberalised all of its trade with Albania with the exception of live 
bovine ani mals and meat of bovine animals.  
2.9.  In the Albanian schedule of concessions, a number of tariff lines  are excluded from tariff 
concessions, in particular prepared food, meat , dairy and vegetable products . 
2.1.4   Final tariff schedule applied  by RTA parties  
2.10.   Final da ta to be found in the E U-IDB and AL -IDB submission s 2017, provided to the WTO 
Secretariat in March 2017 . 
2.2  Export  duties and charges, and quantitative restrictions  
2.11.   Under the Agreement, the Parties have agreed to abolish any export duties and charges, 
and qua ntitative restrictions in accordance with Art. 21 and 33 of the Agreement . 
2.3  Regulatory  provisions on trade in goods  
2.3.1   Rules of origin   
2.12.   The Rules of Origin applied under the Agreement are set out in its Protocol 4 . It was 
replaced on 1 May 2015 in order to be  modelled on the Pan -European regime  of diagonal 
cumulation of origin . 
2.3.2   Standards  
2.13.   The Agreement foresees a gradual approximation of Albania's legislation with the EU acquis 
– including standards and certification  – within a ten -year transition period.   
2.3.3   Trade  defence instruments  
2.14.   The Parties have not applied any measure using the mechanisms established under the 
Agreement.  
3  PROVISIONS  ON TRADE IN SERVICES  
3.1  Commitments  
3.1.  The provisions related to trade in services (Title V of the Agreement, Annex IV, containing a 
list of financial services, and Protocol 5, that details the rules applicable to land transport services) 
entered into force on 1 April 2009 and cover all the four modes of supply, including movement of 
workers, establishment, supply of services and current  payments and movement of capital.   
3.2.  The only excluded sectors are : air transport services; inland waterways transport services 
and maritime cabotage services . 
3.3.  The structure of the Agreement follows neither a typical "negative" nor "positive" list 
approach.  Its structure reflects one of its main objectives, that is, the approximation of Albania's 
legislation to that of the EU.  
3.2  Regulatory  provisions  
3.4.  There is no provision per se in the Agreement on domestic regulation in line with GATS 
Article  VI. However, t he approximation process also covers measures governed by GATS Article VI.   WT/REG226/R/I  
 
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  4  OTHER PROVISIONS  IN THE AGREEMENT  
4.1  Cooperation  
4.1.  The Parties have undertook cooperation policies on a broad range of activities: including 
economic and trade policy; statistics; banking, insurance and other financial services; audit and 
financial control; investment promotion and protection; industrial cooperation; small and medium -
sized enterprises; tourism; agriculture and the agro -industrial sector; fisheries; customs; taxation , 
social and cultural cooperation. Specific services sectors mentioned in the Title on Cooperation 
include education and training, audio -visual, electronic communications networks and services, 
transport, energy, environment, and research and technological  development .  
4.2.  One example of customs cooperation activities includes a project which allowed very simple 
technology to help the Albanian customs service make very striking improvements in performance. 
With European Union funding, digital cameras have been  installed in customs posts, allowing close 
monitoring of procedures by the central customs authority. The improvements can be seen in 
higher detection -rates for smuggling, better protection levels for staff, and reduced instances of 
corruption. The assist ance is part of a wider programme of EU  support to the alignment of customs 
procedures with EU standards, running from 2008 to 2012, which also boosted cooperation among 
agencies and supplied training in management methods.  
4.3.  Title IX of the Agreement addres sees Financial Cooperation under which Albania may receive 
financial assistance from the EU in the forms of grants and loans, including loans from the 
European Investment Bank.  
Table 4.1 Indicative Allocations  per policy area and sectors (million €)  
Albania (EUR million)  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018 -2020  TOTAL   
2014 -2020   
Democracy and governance  157.2  66.3 223.5  
Rule of law and fundamental rights  69.0 28.0 97.0 
Environment and climate action  34.0 34.0 68.0 
Transport  18.0 38.0 56.0 
Competitiveness and innovation  16.0 28.0 44.0 
Education, employment and social policies  19.0 50.0 69.0 
Agriculture and rural development  40.0 52.0 92.0 
TOTAL  83.7 86.9 89.7 92.9 296.3  649.4  
Please note that the figures included in the table are indicative and that actual annual allocations  
might be subject to changes of the total and/or sector amounts.  
 
4.2  Sector -specific provisions  on iron and steel products  
4.4.  The Agreement contains special der ogations on competition and other economic provisions; 
in particular, as an exception, during the first five years after the date of entry into force of the 
Agreement, Albanian producers could receive State -aid for restructuring under certain conditions.  
4.5.  During the implementation period, Albania has provided some State -aid to its mining industry 
purely for closure and conservation purposes.  The aid aims to ease the closure process by covering 
production losses of the uncompetitive coal mines until closure.   
Table 4.2 Category of aid provided for the mining sector, 2011 -2016  (million €)  
2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  
Value  % of 
total 
aid Value  % of 
total 
aid Value  % of 
total 
aid Value  % of 
total 
aid Value  % of 
total 
aid Value  % of 
total 
aid 
0.04  0.03  0.09  0.06  0.10  0.07  0.21  0.46  0.27  1.07  0.29  (*)  
(*) Albanian o fficial data yet in progress . WT/REG226/R/I  
 
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  4.3  Stabilisation and Association  Council  
4.6.  The Parties have established the Stabilisation and Association Council and Committee and 
Council that met on a regular basis, once a year. The main activities of these institutional bodies 
consist of supervising the application and implementation of the Agreement, examining any major 
issues arising and any other bilat eral or international issues of mutual interest.  
4.4  Dispute  settlement  
4.7.  The Agreement does not contain a fully -fledged dispute settlement mechanism but rather 
includes a  possibility for each Party to  refer to the Stabilisation and Association  Council any disp ute 
relating to th e application or interpretation of the  Agreement. The Stabil isation and Association 
Council may settle the dispute  by means of a binding decision; the Parties have not made use of 
this mechanism.  WT/REG226/R/I  
 
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  ANNEX 1  
EU STATISTICS ON TRADE IN GOODS  
Table A1. 1 EU(28): Imports from Albania (million €)  
Year Total  Agricultural products*  Non-agricultural products*  
2008  681.1  29.5 651.6  
2009  650.7  25.5 625.2  
2010  895.4  29.5 865.9  
2011  946.0  36.1 909.9  
2012  1,118.3  41.1 1,077.2  
2013  1,234.7  45.6 1,189.1  
2014  1,246.2  48.7 1,197.6  
2015  1,164.6  62.0 1,102.6  
2016  1,290.6  72.8 1,217.7  
* WTO definition.  
Source:  EUROSTAT (Comext).  
Table A1. 2 EU(28): Exports to Albania (million €)  
Year Total  Agricultural products*  Non-agricultural products*  
2008  2,202.7  305.5  1,897.2  
2009  2,121.2  297.7  1,823.5  
2010  2,187.3  317.8  1,869.6  
2011  2,330.1  322.5  2,007.6  
2012  2,443.8  322.0  2,121.8  
2013  2,326.2  333.6  1,992.6  
2014  2,468.1  328.3  2,139.7  
2015  2,519.5  334.6  2,184.9  
2016  2,708.2  345.9  2,362.4  
* WTO definition.  
Source:  EUROSTAT (Comext).  
Table A1. 3 EU(28) : Import coverage after full implementation of the Agreement  
Coverage  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  
% of tariff lines  97.6%  97.5%  97.4%  97.2%  97.5%  97.5%  97.5%  97.4%  
% of imports  99.4%  99.2%  99.6%  99.3%  99.2%  98.9%  98.6%  97.7%  
Note:  
Line coverage (% tariff lines)  is calculated as duty -free quota -free EU(28) tariff lines on imports  from Albania 
divided by total EU(28) tariff lines on imports from Albania.  
Trade coverage (% imports ) is calculated as duty -free quota -free EU(28) imports from Albania divided by total 
EU(28) imports from Albania, equal to EU's "substantially all trade" (SAT) definition.  
For calc ulation of the coverage rates the preferential tariffs in force on 1 January of the indicated years has 
been used.   
Source:  EUROSTAT (Comext).  
 WT/REG226/R/I  
 
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  ANNEX 2  
EU STATISTICS ON TRADE IN SERVICES  
Table A2.1 - Foreign direct investments EU(28) - Albania   
Year Million Euro  Year-on-year growth %  
Stocks  Flows  Stocks  Flows  
Inward  Outward  Inward  Outward  Inward  Outward  Inward  Outward  
2010  90.0  3,730.0  0.0  2,274.0  : 162%  : 263%  
2011  81.0  2,145.0  65.0  -58.0  -10% -42% :  
2012  68.0  2,034.0  855.0  -1,023.0  -16% -5% 1215%  -1664%  
2013  -21.3 2,491.6  -84.4 270.0   22%   
2014  38.4 5,701.7  19.6 147.2   129%   -45% 
2015  -115.1  6,387.1  -148.9  192.4   12%  31% 
Source:  Eurostat (bop_fdi_main (< -2012); bop_fdi6_geo (2013 ->)) Break in series in 2008 and 2013 . 
 Prepared by DG Trade - Chief Economist Unit - Statistics sector.  
 
Chart A2.1 - EU(28): Foreign direct investments with Albania (million €)  
 
Source:  Eurostat  
 Prepared by DG Trade - Chief Economist Unit - Statistics sector.  
 
Table A2.2 - EU(28) : Trade in services1 with Albania (million €)  
  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  
Debits (Imports)  
Current account, Services  564.4  731.8  609.9  685.8  724.2  694.2  
Credits (Exports)  
Current account, Services  504.5  601.1  725.7  642.6  738.8  723.4  
Net (Balance)  
Current account, Services  -59.9 -130.7  115.8  -43.2 14.6 29.2 
1 Services excluding Government services, n.i.e.   
Source:  Eurostat (bop_its6_det/tot) . 
 Prepared by DG Trade (EU Commission) - Chief Economist Unit – Statistics sector.  
  
WT/REG226/R/I  
 
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  ANNEX 3  
ALBANIA'S STATISTICS ON TRADE IN GOODS  
Table A3. 1 Albania: Imports from EU (million €)   
Year Total  Agricultural products*  Non-agricultural products*  
2008  2,176  367 1,809  
2009  2,088  370 1,718  
2010  2,304  430 1,874  
2011  2,530  444 2,086  
2012  2,403  400 2,003  
2013  2,373  397 1,976  
2014  2,411  400 2,011  
2015  2,405  430 1,975  
2016  2,664  433 2,231  
* WTO definition.  
Source:  Albanian Institute of Statistics . 
Table A3. 2 Albania: Exports to EU (million €)   
Year Total  Agricultural products*  Non-agricultural products*  
2008    730  56  674 
2009    623  55  568 
2010    824 111  713 
2011  1,023  134  889 
2012  1,159  139 1,020  
2013  1,348   87 1,261  
2014  1,415   92 1,323  
2015  1,310  133 1,177  
2016  1,381  133 1,248  
* WTO definition.  
Source:  Albanian Institute of Statistics . 
Table A3. 3 Albania:  Import coverage after full implementation of the Agreement  
Coverage  2008  2009  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  
% of tariff 
lines 71.08%  75.47%  80.38%  93.33%  92.91%  92.89%  93.07%  93.04%  93.07%  
% of imports  76.85%  72.88%  75.66%  92.74%  94.00%  96.72%  97.08%  93.88%  97.70%  
Source:  General Directorate of Customs . 
Note:  
Line coverage (% tariff lines)  is calculated as duty -free quota -free EU(28) tariff lines on imports from Albania 
divided by total EU(28) tariff lines on imports from Albania.  
Trade coverage (% imports ) is calculated as duty -free quota -free EU(28) imports from Albania divided by total 
EU(28) imports from Albania, equal to EU's "substantially al l trade" (SAT) definition.  
For calculation of the coverage rates the preferential tariffs in force on 1 January of the indicated years has 
been used.   
  WT/REG226/R/I  
 
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  ANNEX 4  
ALBANIA'S STATISTICS ON TRADE IN SERVICES  
Table A4. 1 Foreign direct  investments Albania – EU(28)  
Year Million Euro  Year-on-year growth %  
Stocks  Flows  Stocks  Flows  
Inward  Outward  Inward  Outward  Inward  Outward  Inward  Outward  
2010  1,772.76     12%    
2011  1,937.88     9%    
2012  1,669.73     -14%    
2013  2,509.29   259.46   50%    
2014  2,966.28   269.85   18%  4%  
2015  3,280.27   184.73   11%  -32%  
2016  3,528.15   245.78   8%  33%  
Source:  Bank of Albania.  
 
Chart A4. 1 - Albania: Foreign direct investments (million €)  
 
Source:  Bank of Albania.  
 
Table A4. 2 Albania:  Trade in services with Albania1 (million €)  
  2010  2011  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  
Debits (Imports)  
Current account, Services      1,504       1,603      1,451     1,444     1,528      1,483        1,545  
Credits (Exports)  
Current account, Services      1,921       1,989      1,862     1,685     1,853      1,990        2,359  
Net (Balance)  
Current account, Services        417        386       410     240     325      507        814 
1 Services excluding Government services, n.i.e.   
Source:  Bank of Albania.  
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