The European Union Delegation in Tirana emphasizes that the changes are under assessment and that concessions should be granted through transparent and competitive procedures. Albania is warned not to deviate from its commitments in the integration process.
The European Union Delegation in Tirana reacted after the approval of the amendments to the law "On Tourist Ports", noting that the initiative must pass through the filter of European standards and the commitments that Albania has made in the integration process.
In a response to Faktoje, the Delegation emphasizes that the changes are already under assessment, with a particular focus on public procurement and compliance with the EU acquis, which requires transparent and competitive procedures for the award of concessions, including ports.
"The changes will need to be closely assessed by our services, particularly in the area of public procurement and their compliance with EU legislation, which requires transparent and competitive procedures for the award of concessions, including for ports," the European Union Delegation office said.
The delegation emphasizes that the new changes include elements from the law on strategic investors, a law that Albania is expected to repeal as part of the reforms and fulfillment of the criteria for closing Chapter 27.
"Albania must refrain from any step that contradicts these commitments," warns the EU Delegation.
What do the changes foresee?
The Assembly approved last Thursday, with 76 votes of the majority, the legal initiative that allows the granting of tourist ports without competition, in cases where they are part of a strategic investment.
According to the amendments, if a tourist port is included in a project approved by the Strategic Investment Committee, it will no longer be subject to competitive concession procedures. Instead, the strategic investor will have the right to build and operate the port directly, while the conditions will be determined by a decision of the Council of Ministers.
In the accompanying report, the initiative is argued with the need to avoid overlaps between the law on tourist ports and the law on strategic investments, which according to the authors have led to delays and uncertainties. However, the document itself emphasizes that the draft act does not aim for direct approximation with the EU acquis.
The debate has also been linked to a specific case, the planned investment in the island of Sazan by a company represented by Jared Kushner. Socialist MP Zamira Sinaj used this example to justify the changes, emphasizing that they would facilitate strategic investments in tourism.
"Custom law" and in violation of the EU
Democratic Party MP, Jorida Tabaku, has strongly opposed this initiative, describing it as a law that violates European standards and favors special interests.
"The latest change coming to Parliament is in violation of the Stabilization and Association Agreement as well as 3 chapters of EU legislation. 5, 8 and 14. It is not new that the laws that pass the Albanian Parliament are tailor-made, that protect special interests, but this is the 18th in a row of laws that come with tailor-made rules," declared Tabaku shortly before the law was approved in the plenary session.
According to Tabaku, granting public assets without competition violates fair competition and contradicts the principles that the European Union requires of aspiring countries.
Risk to competition
Economic expert Zef Preçi sees this change as part of a broader problematic pattern related to the status of “strategic investor.” According to him, this mechanism has been used to favor certain actors, avoiding competition and creating undeserved benefits.
"The main argument is that this status provides selected businesses with undeserved benefits such as tax exemptions, land expropriations, and avoidance of competition, bypassing the constitutional principles of free competition," Preçi emphasizes for Faktoje.
He warns that recent changes reinforce this practice.
"The proposed amendments reinforce this practice by giving dubious investors the opportunity to take over coastal ports, without a national master plan for their development," argues Preçi.
Although the European Union Delegation does not directly consider the adopted law to be a violation of the SAA, it clearly emphasizes that the procedures for granting concessions must be transparent and competitive, and that Albania must avoid any step that conflicts with its commitments.
In this context, the concerns raised by Democratic MP Jorida Tabaku about the lack of competition and compliance with European standards find support in the EU's position, and we categorize her statement as true. /Faktoje.al/
