RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/TPR/G/229 
24 March 2010  
 
(10-1516) 
Trade Policy Review Body Original: English 
   
 
  
 
TRADE POLICY REVIEW 
 
Report by 
 
ALBANIA 
 
  
 
Pursuant to the Agreement Establishi ng the Trade Policy Review Mechanism 
(Annex 3 of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade 
Organization), the policy statement by Albania is attached. 
 
 
Note: This report is subject to restricted circ ulation and press embargo until the end of the first 
session of the meeting of the Trade Policy Review Body on Albania. Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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CONTENTS 
 
    P a g e  
 
I. INTRODUCTION 5 
II. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 6 
(1) M ACROECONOMIC POLICIES AND DEVELOPMENT  6 
(2) I NFLATION AND MONETARY POLICIES  8 
(3) S TRUCTURAL REFORM  8 
(i) Privatization 8 
(ii) Tax reform 9 
(iii) Competition 10 
(4) P RIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT  11 
III. TRADE   11 
(1) T RADE DATA 11 
(2) T RADE POLICY  12 
(i) Trade in goods 13 
(ii) Trade in services 17 
(iii) Trade-related intellectua l property rights (TRIPs) 18 
(iv) Others 19 
IV. TRADE POLICY OBJECTIVES AND DEVELOPMENT 19 
(1) W ORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  19 
(2) A LBANIA 'S ACCESSION PROCESS TO THE EU 20 
(3) R EGIONAL INTEGRATION  20 
  
 
 
 Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Trade has a very important role in the econom ic development of the country. Trade in goods 
contributed with 51% in GDP for 2008 versus 38% in 2000. Exports of goods had a gradual increase, 
which has revealed the compara tive advantages of Albania and for 2008 exports represented 10.4% of 
GDP. Exports increased from year to year by 2 pe rcentage points more than imports. Products which 
have the largest weight of exports during this d ecade and which have been became traditional export 
products are textiles, clothing and foot wear.  These two categories contribute approximately 30% to 
the total exports of Albania. Metals, minerals and a range of food prod ucts have also had a 
considerable weight in the country's exports. 
2. Albania remains a net importer, with imports exceeding exports several times, with the ration 
1 exports toward 4 imports. A considerable part of  this trade deficit (approximately half of it) is 
traditionally covered by remittances of Albanians living abroad, mainly in two neighbouring countries 
Italy and Greece. From 2000 until 2008, remittances ha ve increased on an average of 16% per year. In 
addition, during this period, re mittances constitute approximately  13.6% of GDP. Even though, 
Albania has a multi-year negative trade balance, the decreasing trend of its growth during years, is a 
positive signal for the economic development. 
3. The objective of Albanian Government  in trade policy area aims to: (i) liberalization of trade, 
for ensuring economic development, increase of e xports, encourage of investment in general and 
particularly foreign direct investments;  (ii) ha rmonize the Albanian legislation with international 
trade rules;  and (iii) harmonization with the Eu ropean Common Commercial Policy, etc. In this 
context, Albania has prepared, adopted and implem ented some very important laws as: (i) Customs 
Code of the Republic of Albania, with all its impl ementing provisions;  (ii) law for customs duties, 
with harmonized nomenclature of goods classification;  (iii) the law on standardization;  (iv) law on 
antidumping;  and (v) law on conformity assessment, etc. 
4. Albanian's trade policy has been  inspired by the WTO guiding principles and approaches. The 
whole strategy of trade policy, since membership  in the WTO is based on Albania's membership 
report in this organization, Results of the Ur uguay Round for Multilateral Trade Negotiations. This 
approach is complemented by the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the European 
Communities and their Member States, which is in  force since December 2006; the Central Europe 
Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA 2006), in force from Ju ly 2007;  Turkey free trade agreement, in 
force from 1 May  2008;  and the free trade agreement with EFTA states, signed on 
17 December 2008 and now in the ratification process. 
5. The strategic objective of Albania is to b ecome a member of European Union. In 
December 2009, Albania started the process of prep aring the answers to the questionnaire of the 
European Union, a process that would enable Alba nia to have the invitation for candidate status. 
6. During these years the Albanian economy, which is led by free market mechanisms, has had 
significant structural changes. During the last ten ye ars, the most evident stru ctural changes are, the 
gradual reduction of the agricultural sector by 24% of GDP in 2000 to about 16% in 2008, the 
construction sector increase from 8%to 12.7%, and the service sector increase to about 53% of GDP. 
The contribution of industry in GDP has remained mo re or less in the same levels, about 8 % of GDP. 
The growth in the last ten years, which is estimat ed to be about 6% per year, in agriculture and 
industry have an average contribution of 0.7 and 0.5 percentage points each, construction about 1.7 
percentage points and services have a cont ribution of about 3 percentage points. WT/TPR/G/229 Trade Policy Review 
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7. During 2009, the Albanian economy has been af fected by the global financial and economic 
crisis, mainly by the reduction of  foreign demand and remittances, th e increase of risk premiums and 
by a reduced financial support with higher cost. Ho wever, the Albanian economy continued to have 
positive economic growth during this period, wh ile domestic inflationary pressures remained 
controlled. The inflationary pressures faced by th e Albanian economy during 2009, have been at low 
levels. In addition to the declining price of raw mate rials in international mark ets, the non-inflationary 
process was stimulated also by the weakening of  inflationary pressures from domestic demand in 
terms of global economic recession. The average in flation rate for 2009 was 2.2%, being within the 
target of the Albanian Central Bank. The economi c activity of the country is supported by fiscal 
incentives and the maintenance of relatively high levels of consumer demand, while demand for 
exports has decreased during the first nine months of the year compared with a year earlier. 
II. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 
8. Since the late 1990s the Government of Albani a has taken a series of structural reforms 
including the major economic structural reform, land reform, the reform in the financial market, price 
liberalization and privatization. Over this time, almost all small and medium-sized enterprises were 
privatized, and there has been significant progress in  the privatization of strategic sectors such as 
telecommunications and banking. Thanks to a rigor ous macroeconomic program  the Government has 
implemented after the transition period, Albania ma naged to achieve a macroeconomic stability soon, 
which was also coupled with sa tisfactory GDP growth rates. 
9. Assessments and economic develo pments confirm that the Albanian economy during the last 
decade was characterized by a high and sustainable economic growth. Economic developments of this 
decade reflect the economic transformation and rest ructuring processes, coupled with "positive and 
negative factors" in certain years, towards an economy based on market mechanisms and free 
initiative. Also the trend of economic growth in th e years clearly highlights the potential presence of 
large spaces to support a high and sustainable grow th rate, both in time and in terms of use of 
productive resources. 
(1) MACROECONOMIC POLICIES AND DEVELOPMENT  
10. Since the year 2000 the economic growth rate of  Albania has been one of the highest ones 
among all the region countries. This is coupled with a relatively low inflation rate. During this period 
the GDP has grown with an average of 6% per year, making the GDP per capita increase from 
US$1,190 that was in year 2000 to about US$4,085 in  2008. This is a 4 times growth which reflects 
clearly a considerable growth of the living standard.  
11. Among the most evident structural changes during the last ten years we must distinguish the 
gradual reduction of the agricultural sector from about  24% of GDP in 2000 to about 16% in the year 
2008 associated with an increase of the construc tion sector from 8% in about 12.7%, as well as an 
increase of services to about 53% of the GDP. The contribution of industry to GDP has remained 
more or less at the same levels, averaging about 8%  of the GDP. In the economic growth of the last 
ten years, estimated with an average of about 6%  per year, agriculture and industry have given an 
average contribution of about 0.7 and 0.5 percentage points each, build ing about 1.7 percentage points 
and services have given a contributi on of about 3 percentage points. 
12. Macroeconomic situation in 2009 suffered chang es as a result of global crisis. Real economic 
growth for the year 2009 is anticipated to be at the level of 3%. This growth is supported mainly by a 
satisfactory performance of the services sector and the agriculture sector. Also, year 2009 is supported 
by a high volume of public investment during 2009 with about 9.9% of GDP, of which about 8.8% Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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were made by the central government; this is also  the main instrument of fiscal policy used to 
minimize negative economic effects of the global crisis . Positive developments are also identified in 
the energy sector after two difficult years that this  sector passed as a result of unfavourable climatic 
conditions. 
13. Macroeconomic stability is also supported by a continuous fiscal consolidation. Fiscal 
balance has improved by relying on a combination between: the sustainable increase of revenues and 
reduction of public expenditure. Thus , the total income in relation to  gross domestic product (GDP) 
increased from year to year, while the budget defic it is a clear downward trend, from about 8% in 
2000 to 3.5% in 2007. Meanwhile, during 2008, as a result of increased cap ital investment, budget 
deficit rose to levels of 5.5% of GDP. 
14. Financing the budget deficit is ma inly supported by domestic resources, as domestic loan and 
privatization revenue, but foreign financing has had an important role as well. The difference between 
internal financing and foreign financing has been di minishing. This reflects from one side the increase 
of the loaning capacity of Albanian economy and the fulfilment of obligations and from the other side 
the increase of the Albanian government credibility along with and the economy in general in front of 
the institutions and different inte rnational financial organizations. 
15. Foreign direct investments during this decade ha ve grown with an average of about 34% per 
year representing approximately 4.3% of GDP. In  2008 direct foreign investments reached about 
€675 million, contributing that the foreign direct investment absorbed by  Albanian economy from 
year 2002 to the third trimester of year 2009 to reach about €2,650 million. These and other 
developments in the external sector have led to continuous and substantia l growth of exchange 
reserves available for the monetary authority. 
16. In general terms these positive developments  in the markets of goods and services are 
reflected in the employment market as well. Employment has increased and the unemployment rate 
over the recent years has decreased gradually with an  average rate of about 0.7 percentage points per 
year, reaching 12.7% in 2008 from 16.8% marked in 2000. Wages have also been in line with the 
performance of inflation and unemployment. The av erage salaries for the private sector (excluding 
agriculture) have had an average growth trend of  around 9% per year. The same performance is also 
identified in the average minimum salaries of the public sector. 
17. Albania has adopted the National Strategy for Development and Integr ation, which defines 
policies for medium and long term strategic planning  and establishes strategic priorities and goals for 
2007-2013 with regard to macr oeconomic stability, economic development, trade, etc. 
18. National strategy for developmen t and integration in the field of trade stipulates that trade 
policy will continue to be defined and guided by the principles of World Trade Organization, an 
integral part of which is the intensification of cooperation and realization of the objectives of the 
DOHA development agenda. The commitments taken under the SAA with the European Union, the 
Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and ot her free trade agreements remain essential to 
the Trade Policy. 
19. Very important objectives of this strategy are the preservation of the pace of growth of 
exports of goods, the promotion of competitive a dvantages of Albanian products, increase of the 
production capacity of the exporting sectors, as well as increasing the range of sectors and new items 
for export; promotion policies for foreign direct inv estment, reforms related to  the field of consumer 
protection and market surveillance, technical rul es in trade and sanitary and phytosanitary measures; WT/TPR/G/229 Trade Policy Review 
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environmental protection and rati onal exploitation of natural resources; employment policies and 
functioning of the work market, etc. 
(2) INFLATION AND MONETARY POLICIES  
20. The Bank of Albania is the monetary authority of the country. According to the Albanian 
Constitution and to the Law No. 8,269 of 23 December  1997 "On the Bank of Albania", the bank is an 
independent institution. It has the exclusive right  to design, approve and implement the monetary 
policy in Albania with a view to accomplish its lega l objective: achieve and maintain price stability. 
By ensuring price stability, the Bank of Albani a provides a direct contribution to sustaining 
macroeconomic balances in the c ountry, promoting economic and wea lth growth and safeguarding the 
financial stability of the system.  
21. The Bank of Albania has achieved through the m onetary policies the keeping of the inflation 
rate at 3%, with a tolerance band of ± 1 percentage points, and this target is applicable throughout the 
2009-2011 period.  
22. The Bank of Albania operates on a floating excha nge rate regime, with a fully liberalized 
current account and a largely liberalized capital acc ount. The exchange rate is freely determined on 
the foreign exchange market conditioned by th e supply and demand on the market. The Bank of 
Albania is restrained from making interventions in the foreign exchange market which may affect the 
exchange rate equilibrium and its  trends. During 2009 the annual infl ation rate has averaged 2.2%, 
being on the lower half of the Bank of Albania targ et zone. This reflects the international movement 
of commodities base prices and by the sluggish of the domestic demand due to the effect of the global 
crises in the economy. At the end of 2009 the infla tion rate showed an upward tendency, reflecting the 
pass-through effect of the exchange rate to the pr ices of the consuming goods. For 2010, the Bank of 
Albania expects the inflation rate to stay within the tolerance band 2-4%. 
23. Since 2000, the Bank of Albania implements its monetary policy through the use of the 
market instruments, with an operational framework largely model after the ECB’s template. The main 
instrument of the Bank of Albania is the repurchase agreement with one week maturity. 
24. The monetary developments thr oughout 2009 were characterized by a contraction of financial 
intermediation, resulting in declining of broad m oney. The deposit withdrawals during the period 
from October 2008 to the first trimester of 2009 po sed a major challenge for the financial stability. 
This problem was addressed by the Bank of Al bania and other public authorities aiming the re-
establishing of the confidence in the banking syst em and providing the necessary liquidity to the 
system. However, the liquidity problems and the deterioration of problematic loans, slowdown of 
economic activity and the increased demand of the pub lic sector for financing have resulted in tighter 
credit standards. Coupled with the lower cred it demand resulting from the non favourable economic 
conditions, it resulted in lower credit expansion during 2009. The annual gr owth rate of credit 
declined to 17% on average, being considerably lo wer than its average growth rate of 41% during 
2008. Based on economic growth proj ections for 2010 and the latest monetary development trends, 
the Bank of Albania estimates that the money s upply growth rate of around 7-9% during 2010 is 
compliant with the Bank of Albania’s inflation target in 2010. 
(3) STRUCTURAL REFORM  
(i) Privatization 
25. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy is in charge of implementing the privatization 
strategy with regard to strategic sectors except banking and insurance, for which the Ministry of Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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Finance is the responsible authority. The National Privatization Agency is the body responsible for 
implementation of the process of privatization from the technical point of view.  Albania considers 
privatization to be the crucial point in an  economy in transition’s reform programme.  
26. The privatization process was conducted on a case-by-case basis, whereby the Council of 
Ministers adopted a final decision on the privatizati on of an asset or enterprise. Most privatization 
procedures were carried out during 1990-2000, prio r to Albania's accession to the WTO. By the end 
of year 2000, the vast majority of economic activity was privatized. Among the most important 
developments after year 2000 are: 
• In 1999, Albania privatized its first mobile phone network, through a 
US$85.6 million. In 2001, it awarded the second mobile phone license. 
• In 2007, the Government decided to priva tize the distribution of electric energy 
system in order to reduce losses and impr ove service quality. In June 2008, the 
distribution system was privatized by a foreign company with the value of 
€102 million (which consists in buying 76% of  the stakes). The privatization provides 
the solving of other issues such as unrealized revenue compensation, the path to target losses of 15% in 2014, and th e allowance for uncollected bills. 
• In June 2008, Albania approved the sale of 85% of the stakes of the oil refinery 
ARMO to a foreign consortium for the valu e of €125 million. The privatization of the 
remaining strategic assets, mainly the assets of the oil company Albpetrol and Albania's minority stake in the fixed telephone operator ALBTELECOM, is scheduled to take place in the near fu ture. The revenues from privatization for 
1992-2009 reached US$1 milliard. 
27. Other important privatizations include potential concession of the railway sector, the Port of 
Durres and several water supply enterprises (Elba san, Sarande, Durres, Lezhe, Fier and Kavaje 
through a management contract, and Berat a nd Korce through concessionaire contracts); the 
privatization of the mining companies Albkrom Ltd.  (chromium) and AlbBaker Ltd. (copper); and the 
privatization of Albanian Refining and Marketing Oil company "ARMO". 
(ii) Tax reform 
28. The transition from a centralized economy to th e market economy and rules imposed changes 
to the legal framework of taxes. The tax regime w as reformed and the new tax legislation was put in 
place, based on the experience of developed western countries. Albania, as other countries of central 
and eastern Europe, had the advantage of creating "from the beginning" their fiscal systems, taking 
advantage of the best western practices. However,  due to the specific conditions of economic and 
social structure of the country, tax policies and rule s have been in continuous change, to improve and 
manage the system and to adapt it to the specifics. 
29. The main objective of tax policy, is balancing of  fiscal target (revenue collection for financing 
the public budget) with the use of taxes as an inst rument of economic policy to promote employment 
and investment in the formal economy. Tax polic y pursued over the past decade correcting the 
"deficiencies" of the tax policies of the first decad e after the 90s, is based on the philosophy of lower 
taxes and extended range of tax-pa yers. Among the main developments in tax policy is: (i) the gradual 
reduction of the tax rate for profit tax from 25% in  2000 to 10% currently; (ii) the change in the 
system of personal income tax, from a progressive taxation to a proportional taxation, with the same 
tax rate; (iii) the significant reduction of the tax burden on income from work: currently the total 
measure of contribution on gross salary for social insurance and health is 27.9% from 41.9% of gross 
monthly salary in 2000; (iv) the system of value a dded tax which remains integral with the same value WT/TPR/G/229 Trade Policy Review 
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taxation and the same tax base; and (v) the exci se tax system, which has undergone changes in 
structure and level of taxation, for an approach to the harmonized legislation of EU. 
30. Referring to recent years, tax policy has been led by the priorities and strategic objectives 
expressed in public finance strategy 2007-2013. For 2010 and beyond, there are three issues of 
particular importance: (i) provide sufficient reve nue budget (essential part of which are the income 
tax) to cope with the costs and preservation of  the macroeconomic stability. The key factors for 
achieving the target under discussion are the expans ion of the taxable base and the management 
(taxation and customs); (ii) approach of tax legisl ation, for direct and indirect taxation with EU 
legislation. In particular, an important reference for drafting the tax policy is the code of conduct for 
business taxation, for the future but also for the rule s in force. The latter are subject to analysis for 
their compliance with the Code of conduct; and ( iii) income management policies will aim to 
strengthen the strategic management of tax and customs administration, promotion of voluntary 
remission of obligations by taxpayers through in creasing the credibility of both administrations and 
promotion of a culture of service, and the modernization of customs and tax service as well. 
(iii) Competition 
31. Albania's membership in WTO coincided with the moment when Albania did not have a 
Competition authority and the old Law "On comp letion" of year 1995 was in force. On 
1st December 2003 the actual Law No. 9,121 of 28 July  2003 "On Protection of Competition" entered 
into force with which the Competition Authority was created as an independent public institution 
responsible for ensuring free and effective competiti on in the market. This law respects the rules and 
principles of World Trade Organization. 
32. The Competition Authority is implementing the National Competition Policy based on the 
WTO principles. Among these principles we can mention the principles of transparency, non-
discrimination and respect for free and effective competition in the market, etc. 
33. The Competition Authority, from the moment of  its establishment until today, has undertaken 
a series of monitoring and investigations, which count ed about 36 investigations in various sectors of 
the economy as e.g.: the mobile phone market, the mark et certificates of insurance, in the concrete 
market, the petroleum market, the flour market, etc.  For these investigations, since its establishment, 
the Authority has taken a series of punitive measures against violators of the Law "On protection of 
competition". Authority has planned for the short term, the opening of several investigations in 
various areas such as the market of vehicles procurement, air transport, electronic communications 
market, treasury bills market. 
34. In the area of public procurement the new La w No. 9,643 of 20 November 2006 "On Public 
Procurement" is in place. This law brought great improvements in our system, such as increasing 
transparency and efficiency of the system, contri buting as such to the reduction of corruption. The 
transparent system in place for public procurement enables that economic operators get information in 
due time and exercise ask their right of appeal. Th e electronic publication on the Public Procurement 
Agency web-site ( www.app.gov.al ) of the Bulletin of public procurement, as foreseen by the law, was 
a great achievement, since the economic operators  can get any information and standard tender 
documents freely and without any obstacles. The foreign business have all the facilities to get 
information on the public procurement procedures be ing performed in Albania, and to prepare its 
offer, since the time limits required to preparati on of the offers are referred to the respective 
international rules of trade. Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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35. Recently, the Assembly of the Republic of Al bania approved with the Law No. 10,170 of 
22 October 2009, some amendments to the La w No. 9,643 of 20 November 2006 "On Public 
Procurement", and amended, regarding the estab lishment of an independent review body on 
investigation of economic operato rs’ complaints, and also the fra mework agreement and the utilities 
sectors (water, energy, transport and postal services) . The independent review body will be the Public 
Procurement Commission, which according to the law will be a collegial body under the Council of 
Ministers. In this latest amendment is provided a more complete definition of framework agreement, 
which might be used for all kind of contracts (goods, services and works). For the first time in 
Albanian procurement legislation is foreseen a sp ecific chapter on procurement on utilities sectors. 
(4) PRIVATE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT  
36. The private sector is the main driver of th e economic growth, with a contribution of about 
80% of GDP, and over 80% of employment. In the framework of business climate and creating a 
friendly environment investments, the Albanian  Government has undertaken a comprehensive 
regulatory reform, where the core of the measures consist on the reduction of administrative burdens 
and costs of doing business.   
37. Economic growth has been projected to re ly on clear policies for increasing foreign 
investment, policies which has been projected to double in the medium-term period and would 
contribute to further consolidati on of the economic development. 
38. This is going to be achieved by improving the business climate and business infrastructure, 
reducing the informal economy, accelerating the pr ivatization process in strategic sectors such 
telecommunications and insurance, extending and further developing the banking sector, developing 
the insurance market, increasing investment in the sector of oil and gas, and developing seaport and 
airport services.   
39. During the years 2006-09 important reforms are undertaken to improve business environment 
such as: transformation of the system of registration and licensing, e-procurement, tax reform and 
e-tax etc., which have improve d considerably the easing of do ing business in Albania.  
40. Due to these reforms Albania was ranked the second among top ten reforming countries in 
Doing Business report for 2008 and showed go od progress in 2009. In addition, Albanian 
competitiveness index for 2009 improved by 3.72 point s compared with 2008, ranking Albania the 
96th among 133 countries of the world. 
III. TRADE  
(1) TRADE DATA 
41. In the last ten years the foreign trade of Alba nia has manifested considerable changes as well 
as notable growth.  After Albania's membership in the World Trade Organization, the trade of goods 
volume, which in 2008 reached the value of US$6,601 million from US$1,348 million in 2000, 
experiencing so a 4-time growth. The foreign trade of goods has an important role in the country’s 
economy and it represented about 51% of GDP in 2008. 
42. The structure of Albania’s foreign trade continu es to have a dominance of imports to exports, 
with a ratio of about 1:4, although it is noted that  the export growth rate is larger than imports. 
43. In 2000 the value of imports of goods was $1'089 million while in 2008 it was 
US$5,246 million, presenting an increase of over 3.8 times. The structure of imports of goods has WT/TPR/G/229 Trade Policy Review 
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experienced a profound change. In 2000 the structur e of import was: 13% machinery and equipment, 
12% raw materials and 21% agriculture and agro -processing goods. Actually it is dominated by 
imports of machinery and equipment (about 23. 2%), of raw materials (about 25%) and 12% 
agriculture and agro-processing goods. 
44. Exports of goods have resulted in an incr ease as well. In 2008 the export value was 
US$1,354 million from US$259.6 million in 2000, which r esults in a sustainable rise of over 4 times. 
The export structure has also experienced changed. In 2000 the export structure was dominated 71% 
by inward processing, and 29% by exports with Alba nian origin. Currently this structure is 59.8% by 
inward processing and 40.2% by goods with Albanian Origin. 
45. The main partners of Albanian’s trade exch anges of goods are European Union countries, 
with about 67% of the exchange of goods volume,  followed by CEFTA countries, which in the past 
three years accounted 7.5% of trade volume, the EFTA countries with about 2.3% of trading volume 
and with other countries around the world about 23.2% of Albanian's trade volume. 
46. The main trade partners of Albanian exports  are the European Union countries with about 
79.6%, CEFTA countries with 13.6%, EFTA countries with 0.36% and other countries of the world 
with 6.34%. Compared with 2007,  exports  in 200 8 have an  increased by 16.8% and the biggest 
growth is marked in exports with Albanian orig in, with an increase of 39% over a year ago, while 
exports of  inward processing goods  increased only by 5.4%. 
47. The main trade partners of Albanian imports remain the European Union countries with about 
60.7%, CEFTA countries with 8.4%, EFTA countri es with 3.14% and other countries around the 
world with 27.72%. It must be stressed that especi ally in 2008 there was a considerable increase in 
imports from other countries of the world, especia lly from China, Russia, Ukraine, as well as some 
regional countries like Serbia, part of CEFTA 2006 Agreement. 
48. During 2009, the world economic crisis affected the trade exchanges of Albania by shrinking 
the indicators of Albanian foreign trade. The tr ade of goods exchange volume suffered a decline of 
10%, where exports of goods declined by 14.9% a nd imports declined about 8.8%. The structure and 
the main partners have undergone to great cha nges as well. Traditional exports from EU countries 
resulted in a decrease of 15.4%, while imports of  goods from EU countries, have been reduced by 
3.5%. Meanwhile, exports have found new partners in other countries of the world mainly China by 
2.8%. 
(2) TRADE POLICY  
49. Since the membership of the Republic of Alba nia to the WTO (September 2000), our country 
has realized the full liberalization of its import e xport regime of goods. Further orientation of trade 
policy in Albania is the liberalization and harmonizat ion with the elimination of all non-tariff barriers 
to trade misleading effects. The tariffs applied by  Albania on imports are very low. Albanian overall 
bound tariff is 6.6% while the average tariff app lied for 2008 is 2, 3%. The main challenge of 
Albanian trade policy is to balance the deepening of liberalization in general, and the deepening of the 
rate (tariff) in particular, with the measures for eliminating the artificial administrative barriers and 
technical barriers to trade.  
50. In order to realize the above mentioned goals, Albania has constantly liberalized its trade 
participating very actively in the regional liberalization process and further on. Albania, being one of 
the parties of the Memorandum of Understanding on Trade Liberalization and Facilitation in 
Southeast Europe since June 2001, has undertaken a whole process to liberalize trade concluding as 
such free trade agreements with  Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia , Moldova. From 1 January 2004 Albania has completed and has 
started to implement the full network of free trade agreements in the region.  
51. This process was followed by the  liberaliza tion process towards the unique agreement on free 
trade, CEFTA 2006, signed from all parties: Mont enegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, 
Kosovo, Moldova and Macedonia and fully operational since November  2007. This agreement is not 
a formal transformation of the network of many free trade agreements into one agreement, but it 
reflects a higher level of trade opening and regi onal cooperation among the countries in the region.  
This cooperation is focused not only in trade in goods  but also in the trade in services, investment 
promotion, public procurement, etc. 
52. The period 2002-05 is marked by another very  important process of liberalization, the 
Stabilization and Association Agreement with Euro pean Union From 1st of December 2006 interim 
free trade agreement (part of SAA, into force on 1st April 2009) between Albania and the European 
Union is being implemented. This represents one of  the most important achievements in Albanian 
Trade Policy. This agreement is a great promoter of our opportunities toward the development of the 
country, because, despite the opening of the Europ ean market for Albanian exports requires the 
approval of the new legislation in accordance with the acquis communautaire . This process provides a 
safe and necessary tool of our country toward the membership in the European Union.  
53. The liberalization policy has continued with the free trade agreement between Albania and 
Turkey, and with the free trade agreement with EFTA States. 
(i) Trade in goods 
(a) Agriculture products 
54. Agriculture has an important position in the Albanian economy and its contribution is to 
about 19% of GDP and the employment is 56.89% of the total number of employees throughout the 
country. The average real growth in agriculture during the last five years is estimated to be 3-3.5% per 
year.  
55. The implemented agricultural policies can be qualified mainly as indirect support and are 
focused on key aspects such as: (i) rehabilitation of infrastructure, (mainly on irrigation and 
commercial); (ii) creation of a pro-business envi ronment, through produc tion and distribution of 
market information for farmers, abolition or rest ructuring of permits and licenses system  for 
agricultural activities and agro-processing, completi on and review of agricultural legislation in 
accordance with Albania's commitments in Stabiliza tion and Association Agreement, as an integral 
part of the National Implementation Plan for Stabilization and Association Agreement; 
(iii) development of services for farmers and othe r operators of the sector, such as agricultural 
technical assistance services, certification services of seeds and seedlings;  and (iv) strengthening the 
institutions and develop the structures for planning  and monitoring the agricultural and rural sector 
through institutional restructuring, improving the competencies and the synergy between them. 
56. The planning for agriculture development is r ealized in the framework of the integrated 
planning system (IPS) at country level. The agri cultural and rural development policies are based on 
two strategic documents adopted by the governmen t: Sectoral Strategy of Agriculture and Food 
(SSAF) and Inter-Sectorial Rural Development St rategy (IRDS). These two strategies form the 
National Plan of Agricultural and Rural Development.  The National Plan is an integral part of the 
National Strategy for Developmen t and Integration, which provides the objectives and policies for 
economic and social development as well  as our country's integration to EU. WT/TPR/G/229 Trade Policy Review 
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57. The agriculture policy aims at increasing the competitiveness and productivity of the sector to 
ensure a better integration of Albanian agricultu re in the EU. As a general goal for the future, 
agricultural policy will try to guarantee sustainable development in the agricultural sector and agro-
industry. Meanwhile specific objectives have been  formulated, which relate to sustainable 
management of agricultural land, increasing the livi ng standards of farmers, ensure food safety, 
improve agricultural marketing, etc. 
58. Detailed policies are provided in the Sectorial Strategy of Agriculture and Food. In this 
strategy have been specified the priorities and sectors: 
59. Strategic priorities: (i) increasing the financ ial support for farms, agricultural and agro-
processor businesses; (ii) improvement management, irrigation and drainage of agricultural land; 
(iii) Improvement of marketing of agricultural and processed products; (iv) increasing the level and 
quality of technologies, information and know ledge of farmers and agro-processing; and 
(v) increasing the food quality and safety of agricultural products and processed ones.  
60. Strategic sectors: (i) production of fruit, oliv e and grape trees; (ii) vegetable production; 
(iii) production of livestock products; (iv) industria l processing of fruits and vegetables; (v) industrial 
processing of grapes; and (vi) industrial processing of milk and meat. 
61. Main policies provided, which aim to increase productivity in these sectors are: (i) Policy 
relating mainly to public investment in agriculture or  agro-processing;  and (ii) policies related to the 
advising and technical assistance to farmers. 
62. Agricultural development policies are an integr al part of rural development policy. Rural 
development in general is based on inter-sectoral rural development strategy. This strategy sets as 
priorities the promotion of the integrated and sust ainable rural development and diversification of 
economic activities in rural areas. 
63. The objectives of the Rural Development Strategy  are: (i) increasing the competitive ability of 
the agricultural sector and agro-food by supporting th e restructuring and development of value-added 
activities (in order to increase the financial value of  products); (ii) protection and improvement of 
environment by managing in a sustainable way the na tural resources in rural areas; (iii) improvement 
of life quality in rural areas and promotion of  va rious economic activities, through the creation of 
new jobs; and (iv) developing institutional cap acity for planning, managing and coordinating 
effectively the activities in support of Rural Development. 
64. Since 2007, agricultural support policy of Albania is resized. In this regard, direct support of 
Albanian farmers is the most prominent element.  The finances of the agricultural policies have 
undergone an important structural change for the firs t time in the histories of these policies after the 
90s: direct support was given to farmers. In order to promote the agricultural sector the Albanian 
government has offered direct support for farmers,  which has a dynamic growth. However, direct 
support to agriculture farmers is assessed and eval uated as limited and insufficient by almost all 
actors. 
65. Albanian has notified to the agriculture Co mmittee the domestic support schedule for years 
2000-08. Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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(b) Non-agriculture products 
66. Policies relating with non-agriculture pr oducts are in full compliance with WTO 
commitments, and they guarantee a sustainabl e economic growth through increase of domestic 
products, increase of export, etc. 
67. Albanian bound tariff for non agriculture products , according to the WTO definition, is 6% 
while our MFN average rate is even lower, around 4.6%. Customs tariffs for industrial non-agriculture 
products are reduced in accordance to the commitmen ts undertaken in Albanian membership in the 
WTO and preferential free trade agreements. In 2009 the average customs tariff for industrial products 
is about 1.41%. This was not only because the MFN a pplied in Albania is very low, but also that the 
imports of industrial products from European Un ion countries and the Balkans are not subject of 
customs tariffs since 2009, as a resu lt of FTAs that are in force. 
68. However, thanks to the implementation of releva nt strategies designed for the development of 
non-agriculture industries sectors, Albanian industry is providing: (i) increase in the production of 
crude oil up to 10% a year, in 2002 the production of crude oil was about 350 thousand tonnes while 
in 2009 the production was about 578 thousand tonnes which has made possible the increase of the 
consumption of energy sources with  hydrocarbon  base from 961 tonnes in 2002 to 1,400 tonnes in 
2009;  (ii) encouraging the initiatives to create Alba nian oil and gas network with south-east Europe; 
(iii) encouragement and promotion of foreign compan ies for investment in research and extraction of 
oil and gas in the Albanian territory; (iv) incr eased production of mineral industry, which for 2009 
was US$150 million, 80% of which is exported; and (v ) growth and expansion of  small and medium 
enterprises, already under private activities. It  will ensure the production of competitive and 
diversified goods in the market and the export as well; creation of employment opportunities and 
increase the standard of living; creation of envi ronmental sustainability; creation of development 
opportunities for areas geographically non-favourable and with a lack of natural resources; use 
rationally the natural resources. 
(c) Safeguard measures for trade 
69. Albania's rules on antidumping and countervailin g measures are based on the Law No. 9,796 
of 23 July 2007 "On Antidumping a nd Countervailing Measures".  This law, notified to the WTO in 
2008, is compliant with the Agreement on Implementa tion of Article VI of the General Agreement on 
Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994), and with the EU regul ations. Furthermore, since its accession to the 
WTO, Albania has not undertaken any anti-dumping or subsidy investigations or  maintained any anti-
dumping or countervailing measures.   
70. In 2007 Albania has adopted a new legisla tion on safeguard measures through the Law 
No. 9,790 of 19 July 2007 "On Safeguard Measure s on Imports", notified to the WTO in 2008. This 
law is compliant with the Agreement on Safeguards of the WTO and with the EU regulations. Albania 
had not initiated any safeguard investiga tions, nor taken any safeguard measures. 
(d) Technical barriers to trade  
71. The General Directorate of Standardisation in  Albania is responsible for the adoption of 
standards, and it is Albania's National Enquiry Point in WTO. 
72. Since year 2000, have been adopted a large number of laws: the new Law No. 9,870 of 
4 February 2008 "On standardization", the Law No . 9,779 of 16 September 2007 "On general product 
safety, essential requirements and conformity assess ment of non-food products" (transposes the EC's 
General Product Safety Directive, common elements of New Approach) and the creation of the legal WT/TPR/G/229 Trade Policy Review 
Page 16 
 
 
base for market surveillance. Th rough Council of Ministers Decisions has been also made the 
transposition of the EC's "New Approach directives". 
73. The General Directorate of accreditation is a national body which operates in the field of 
accreditation. Its activities are based on the Law No . 9,824 of 1 November 2007 "On the accreditation 
of the conformity assessment structur es in the Republic of Albania".  
74. Albania has notified to the TBT Committee, al l laws and decisions governing implementation 
and administration of the TBT Agreement. 
75. Under the Stabilization and Association Agreem ent (SAA), Albania is committed to gradually 
conform to EU technical regulations and Europ ean standardization, metrology, accreditation and 
conformity assessment procedures. In this context has been drafted the adoption of EU technical 
regulations. 
(e) State aid 
76. Since 1st January 2006, is in force a complete legal framework in the state aid field and, also, 
operates the national system of state aid for monito ring and controlling. The legal framework in this 
field includes Law No. 9,374 of 21 April 2005 "On state aid", three implementing regulations, 
approved by Council of Ministers decisions, as well as several guidelines on some categories of 
horizontal aids, approved by State Aid Commission (SAC). 
77. Also, in regard to the approximation of the legislation in this field, is approved the Law 
No. 10,183 of 29 October 2009 "On some amendm ents and additions to Law No. 9,374 of 
21 April 2005 "On state aid".  
78. State aid legislation in Albania is in compliance with EU rules. Apart from determining the 
principles and procedures on the basis of which state aid shall be authorised and supervised, it serves 
to establish a balance between polic ies, which aim to foster the economic and social development of 
certain regions or of the whole country and t hose concerning the protection of market economy 
principles. 
79. The entire legal framework related to the State Aid has been notified to the WTO. 
(f) Investment 
80. Albania has a legal framework on FDI which largely respects the principle of national 
treatment.  Foreign investments in the Republic of Albania are not conditioned by preliminary 
authorization. The Law No. 7,764 of 2 November 1993 "On Foreign Investment" defines the main 
principles applicable to foreign direct investment , more specifically national treatment, guaranties, 
dispute settlement rights, etc. Foreign investment s are treated on the basis of not less favourable 
treatment than that accorded to Albanian invest ments, except for the ownership of land which is 
treated by special laws. According to the above me ntioned law foreign investors have the right to 
transfer outside the territory of the Republic of Albania all the revenues from a foreign investment. 
The foreign investors have the right to make these tr ansfers outside the territory of the Republic of 
Albania in an easily convertible currency, accounti ng it with the exchange rate for the momentarily 
transactions in the day of transfer and in the currency on which it will be transferred. 
81. Albania is very much committed to strictly r espect all its TRIMS commitments as well as for 
the legal measures and presented programs relating this field. Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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82. Albania has signed the MIGA Convention, wh ich established the Multilateral Investment 
Guarantees Agency (MIGA). MIGA provides inv estment guarantees against certain non-commercial 
risks (i.e., political risk insurance) to eligible fo reign investors for qualified investments in developing 
member countries. MIGA's coverage is against the following risks: currency transfer restriction, 
expropriation, breach of contract, war and civil disturbance.  
(ii) Trade in services  
83. Service sector has marked an increased importance for the economic development. 
Contribution to GDP has constantly increased from 2000 reaching 57.6% in 2008.  
84. Albania has a very liberal trade in ser vices regime. Its commitments to GATS are 
considerable and our market is significantly open. Albania is very much committed to fully respect its 
commitment deriving from the General Agreement on Trade in services.  
85. In accordance with paragraph 154 of the repor t of the Working Party on the accession of 
Albania to WTO, Albania is a member of the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft, endorsed by Law 
No. 9,881 of 28 February 2008 "On Adherence to  the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft". 
86. Trade in services has had a positive development over time. The most important development 
regard to the financial sector, telecommunication, energy, etc. 
87. After 2000, the banking network reached almost the largest part of the country and the 
banking sector is totally dominated by the private cap ital. This process, which began in 2003 through 
2005, ended up with the establishment of some ot her private banks, totally owned from Albanian 
investors. The last five years were character ized from a rapid growth, introduction of modern 
financial products and impr ovement in payment system and means of payment. 
88. However, the most notable event of the Albanian Banking system was the successful 
privatization of the largest bank, namely ex-Savin gs Bank, from Raiffeisen Central Bank Austria, a 
leading international bank in Southeast Europe, th rough a process that legally finished in the end of 
2003 and continued in the 2004.  
89. The last five years, starting from 2005, may be  described as the consolidation period for the 
banking system and the increase of competition. The dynamic environment was reflected into the 
entrance of two banks with a locally owned capital;  the absorbance of one bank from the other; the 
entrance of two other big names foreign investors. As a consequence, the structure of the assets side 
started to change with a higher weight of loan por tfolio due to an aggressive lending from almost all 
the banks, while government papers portfolio lost its importance. To the other side, there was an 
increasing volume of the banking activity as measured through the network expansion, increasing of 
overhead expenses, increasing of net operational income and a further penetration of banking 
products. 
90. Relating to the obligations deriving from the accession to WTO and the Stabilization and 
Association Agreement (SAA), the Bank of Albani a revised the regulation "On foreign exchange 
activities". The regulation determines the rules of  the activities in the current account and capital 
account between residents and non-resident from inside -out the territory of the republic of Albanian 
and vice versa. The revising process of the above me ntioned regulation aims to the further liberalize 
the capital movement by simplifying and easing the procedures, the required documentation and the 
rules for the movement of capital, as well elimina ting the monetary limits (thresholds) for the conduct 
of the transactions and movements of capital, betw een the resident and non-residents. The movement 
of capital, compliant with WTO commitments, is fully liberalized. WT/TPR/G/229 Trade Policy Review 
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91. In October 2006 was made possible the establishment of the Albanian Financial Supervisory 
Authority (AFSA) as a supervisory and regulatory in stitution of the insurance, securities and private 
pension markets. The Authority consolidated the regulatory and supervisory functions of financial 
non-banking activities, which were previously carri ed out by Insurance Supervisory Authority, 
Albanian Securities Commission and by the Inspectorate of Supplementary Pensions Private 
Institutes. The AFSA was created on the basis of Law No. 9,572 of 3 July 2006 "On the Financial 
Supervisory Authority", which entered into force on 10 August 2006. 
92. The AFSA is a central institution, independent  from the executive and reports annually to the 
parliament on its activity performed over the preced ing year. The Parliament of Albania adopts the 
AFSA structure, upon the recommendation of th e Authority’s board. The organization chart was 
adopted upon parliament’s Decision No. 98 of 30 Ap ril 2007 "On the approval of the structure and 
organics of the Albanian Financial Supervisory Authority". 
93. Regarding the telecommunication sector, Albania is  compliant with the Schedule of Specific 
Commitments according to the GATS Agreement. This sector is one of the most liberalized ones. By 
the end of year 2009 based on the data of the Companies Register, 74 enterprises have notified for 
their network and service offer for the fixed telephony. 
94. The main developments of the telecommunications sector include: (i) liberalization of fixed 
telephony in 2005, in accordance with Law No. 8,6 18 of 14 June 2000 "On Telecommunications in 
the Republic of Albania", the Council of Minister s Decision No. 464 of 3 July 2003, as amended; 
(ii) privatization of Albtelecom in 2008, with La w No. 9,785 of 19 July 2007 "On ratification of the 
contract for the purchase of shares of joint stock company" Albtelecom; and (iii) implementation of 
legislation new in the field of telecommunica tions in 2008 Law No. 9,918 of 19 May 2008 "On 
electronic communications in the Republic of Albania". 
(iii) Trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPs) 
95. In accordance with paragraph 153 of the repor t of the Working Party on the accession of 
Albania to WTO, we fully comply with the TRIPS Agreement. Under this commitment Albania 
ratified the amendments to the TRIPS Agreemen t by Law No. 9,950 of 10 July 2008 "On the 
Adherence of the Republic of Albania to the Amendments of the TRIPS Agreement". 
(a) Copyright 
96. Copyright is based on the Law No. 9,380 of 4 April 2005 "On Copyright and other Rights 
related to it", and related provisions  including Decision of the Council of Ministers (DCM) No. 232 of 
19 April 2006 "On the creation and working of Al banian Copyright Office", and DCM No. 343 of 
6 June 2007 "On the adoption of the Tariffs of Se rvices that are offered by  the Albanian Copyright 
Office". The Copyright Law provides the protecti on of literary, artistic, public and other works 
including any original intellectual creation of this  nature.  This law protects computer programmes, 
and provides for the protection of performers and pr oducers of phonograms. Exceptions to these rights 
are envisaged in the law for, e.g., reproduction for personal use, citations, use for teaching, 
reproduction from libraries and archives, etc. 
97. In order to step up enforcement, the National Plan for the implementation of the SAA, in 
accordance with DCM No. 232 of 19 April 2006, envisages the creation of 12 Regional Copyright 
Offices (RCOs), administrative dependences of ACO.   For year 2010 has been budgeted the creation 
of the first two RCOs, in Durrës and Elbasan. Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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(b) Industrial property rights 
98. In the field of industrial property rights, th ere has approved Law No. 9,947 of 7 July 2008 
"On Industrial Property", which came into force in 1st November 2008. The new law covers the 
protection of patents, industrial designs, trademar ks and service marks, and geographical indications. 
This law is in compliance with the commitments under the agreement of Trade–Related Intellectual 
Property Rights and the full approximation with acquis communautaire.  
99. In compliance with the SAA and implementing the harmonization of the legislation on 
Intellectual Property to the European Community le gislation relating this field, a National Strategy 
has been drafted which is a strategic document for the Intellectual Property in  general. This national 
Strategy will make possible the carrying out th e obligations for each institution involved in the 
protection of the Intellectual Property. The prioriti es on which this strategic document is based are: 
European Partnership Document, Stabilization and Association Agreement, the 2008 EC Progress 
Reports as well as the TRIPs Agreement. 
100. This strategy aims to support the protection of Intellectual and Industrial Property Rights 
against Counterfeiting and Piracy and other related instruments. The sc ope of the National Strategy is 
to ensure a level of protection of Intellectual Property rights which is similar to that of the European 
Union countries.  
(iv) Others 
101. The Council of Ministers Decision No. 85 of 17 February 2007 "On the approval of the 
procedures of the notification of the trade, economic  and financial legal framework to the WTO" is 
approved to comply with the notification requirements to WTO.  
102. The aim of this Decision is to define and appr ove  the procedures of notification to the WTO 
for all legal acts, approved after the membership of Albania in WTO, including all amendments to the 
relevant legislation (i.e. Council of Ministers D ecisions, regulations, guidan ce and any other measure 
affecting trade in goods and services, intellectua l property, public procurement, civil aviation), 
regardless their compliance or not with the WTO Ag reements, as well as any changes to the specific 
commitments that the Republic of Albania h as undertaken during the accession process in this 
organization. 
103. Based on Article III:3 of GATS agreement, Alba nia has notified to the Council of Trade in 
Services of the World Trade Organization since 2000, a total of 100 legal acts, regulations and 
decisions and one notification unde r Article III: 4 of this agreement. Meanwhile in the Council of 
Trade in Goods have been notified 89 legal a nd sublegal acts during the period of 2007-2010. 
IV. TRADE POLICY OBJECTIVES AND DEVELOPMENT 
(1) WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
104. Albania has fulfilled all obligations and co mmitment deriving from the WTO accession 
within its transitional period that ended in 2009. Albania is very committed to the multilateral trade 
framework and follows any devel opments under Doha Agenda. We ha ve been recently very active 
and participated to the maximum extent possible to a ll activities in the areas of rules, trade in services, 
trade facilitation, TRIPS, NAMA, trade in agricultural products, etc. 
105. In accordance with the WTO definitions Albania is considered SVE country and participated 
very actively in all discussion held under WTO Recently Acceded Members technical discussions. WT/TPR/G/229 Trade Policy Review 
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Non agricultural market access 
106. With regard to non agricultural market access negotiations Albania requested to be excluded 
from any further tariff reduction commitments. Albani an trade volume of non agricultural products is 
less than 0.1 percent of world non agricultural pro ducts trade; trade of non agricultural products is 
much more liberal compared with other SVE and RAM countries (e.g. 33.5% of the total non-
agriculture products is bound at 0, 36.8% of boun d rates are at the level of 6.5 and 5, and the 
maximum bound rate is 20%). 
Trade in agricultural products 
107. With regard to agricultural products Albania requested to benefit by the provisions of 
modalities on agriculture related to domestic support. Furthermore, Alba nia requested to be exempted 
from the Overall Reduction of Trade-Distorting Dom estic Support and not be required to make any 
cuts in de minimis . Since its accession to the WTO, Albania has not granted domestic support on 
agriculture products at the level exceeding de minimis , thus being in compliance with Article 6.4(a) of 
the Agreement on Agriculture. 
108. Further reduction to the committed bound rates fo r agricultural products would result to be 
burdensome for the Albanian economy and therefore we  are not ready to any new reductions.  Albania 
offered deep market access commitments during accession process (27% of agricultural tariff lines are 
bound at 6.5% and lower, fish and fish products bound rate is 0 and maximum bound rate is 20%). 
Trade facilitation negotiations 
109. Albanian Government considers trade facilitati on very important area. With the reduction of 
tariffs the focus to elimination of non-tariff ba rriers and trade facilitation has increased. Albania 
follows very carefully all developments  in the trade facilitation negotiations. 
110. With the request of the Government of Albani a and with the support of WTO Secretariat the 
needs and priorities national self-a ssessment in the WTO negotiations on trade facilitation is carried 
out. The results of this process show that Albania is already compliant with 51% of the proposals, 
partially compliant with 33% of the proposals and 16% of the proposals non compliant. We are 
committed to this process and have already co-sponsored some of the proposals. 
(2) ALBANIA ’S ACCESSION PROCESS TO THE EU 
111. Albania is implementing successfully the A ssociation and Stabilization Agreement (SAA) 
with EU from 1 April 2009. Meanwhile  the free trade agreement, integral part of SAA, is in force 
from 1 December 2006.  
112. In accordance with the transparen cy mechanism for RTA, the trade in goods part of the free 
trade agreement is presented and discussed in WTO in 2009.  
113. Albania applied for the candidate status in sp ring 2009 and from December 2009 it is working 
to complete the questionnaire. 
(3) REGIONAL INTEGRATION  
114. Albania is strongly committed to regional integr ation in all fields, as a condition for European 
integration. In particular the commitment in the field of trade cooperation is obvious. Free trade 
agreement CEFTA 2006, which has provided full libera lization of trade in non agricultural products, Albania WT/TPR/G/229 
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is renegotiated to ensure full liberalization of trade in agricultural products. Meanwhile, Albania 
within the CEFTA framework is al so working to liberalize trade in services, public procurement and 
harmonization of regulations in the field of non-tari ff barriers, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures, rules of competition and state aid, etc. Free trade agreements with Turkey as 
well as free trade agreement with EFTA countries are measures that ensure further regional 
integration. 
__________