The Competition Authority has increased monitoring in recent days in several sensitive markets for consumers, reacting to reports of price increases. After starting monitoring for fuel prices, the institution has taken another step by opening a verification in the bread market in the city of Korça, where it was reported for an immediate and simultaneous increase in the price of bread from 120 to 150 lek.
According to the official announcement, the Competition Authority immediately set up a working group for market monitoring, with the aim of verifying whether the bread production and sales companies coordinated this price increase, which would constitute a violation of Law No. 9121/2003 “On the Protection of Competition”. This law prohibits agreements between companies that aim at or have the effect of restricting competition in the market, especially those related to the setting of sales prices. If such an agreement is proven, companies can face fines of up to 10% of the turnover of the previous financial year.
However, while the Authority reacts quickly to recent market developments, an open question remains about the effectiveness and consistency of its actions in several other important cases.
One of these is the preliminary investigation procedure against the American Hospital, launched in April 2025 on suspicions of abuse of a dominant market position. In the decision dated April 9, 2025, the Competition Authority had given the Competition Commission a three-month deadline to prepare the monitoring report. However, while it is now approaching a year since the launch of this procedure, there is still neither a report nor a final decision, at least not publicly.
This delay creates a noticeable contrast between rapid reactions to new cases and the procrastination of some important investigations, raising questions about the institution's priorities and capacity to address complex competition issues in strategic markets in a timely manner.
The latest developments also come at an important institutional moment for the Competition Authority. According to information from Ekofin, next week parliamentary committees are expected to hold hearings with candidates for the position of Chairman of the Competition Authority. The current chairman, Denar Biba, is running for a second term, while candidates Pajtim Melani, Eldian Balla and Ivis Nocka have also offered themselves in this process.
According to sources, it is likely that Biba will seek re-election for a second term, at a time when the Competition Authority is facing increased expectations for a more active role in monitoring markets and consumer protection, and this not only for notifications of the launch of monitoring or preliminary investigations, but for concrete actions and decisions./ekofin.al/
