Albania is preparing to amend its competition framework to better address anti-competitive practices and align with EU standards. A draft law introducing changes to the Competition Law has been presented but has not yet been discussed in Parliament. The proposed amendments would grant the Albanian Competition Authority (ACA) broader powers, particularly to scrutinize so-called “killer acquisitions,” and would clarify rules on abuse of dominant position and coordinated practices. For Albania’s business and legal community, these changes signal a more vigilant enforcement environment while also offering greater legal certainty. In addition, new regulations are expected to be adopted to further approximate Albanian law to EU competition rules.
Expanded Merger Oversight
An important change is the ACA’s enhanced ability to review concentrations that fall below current turnover thresholds. Under existing law, only transactions exceeding certain domestic and global turnovers require clearance, creating the risk that a dominant firm could acquire a smaller but promising competitor to eliminate it from the market without regulatory scrutiny (a “killer acquisition”). The draft law allows the ACA to open an investigation into completed transactions for up to two years should the turnover thresholds be met after the transaction.
While this tool strengthens competition protection, it also raises concerns regarding legal certainty for businesses.
Tackling Coordinated Practices and Collusions
The draft law also introduces clearer definitions and stricter rules against anti-competitive agreements, allowing the ACA to pursue tacit agreements. Notably, the law will formally define a “concerted practice” as coordination where businesses knowingly cooperate without a formal agreement to limit, distort, or exclude competition.
The amendments likewise tackle bid-rigging and other covert agreements. Any agreements in offers, including taking turns being the lowest bidder or submitting fraudulent bids, are explicitly outlawed. Inviting a rival to collude is also banned, making it illegal for a company to encourage others to join a prohibited practice.
Clearance for the Establishment of Full-Function Joint Ventures
The draft law introduces an explicit requirement for obtaining clearance from the ACA when establishing a full-function joint venture. Such a joint venture is defined as an undertaking operating on a permanent basis as an independent economic entity. While this obligation was already applied in practice through interpretation of the existing legal framework, the draft law now formally incorporates it into the law.
Protecting Confidentiality and Trade Secrets
A welcome development for businesses is the draft law’s attention to trade secrets and confidentiality. The amendments introduce, for the first time, a definition of “trade secret” consistent with EU standards. Under this framework, confidential business information that has commercial value and is subject to reasonable secrecy measures will be recognized as a protected trade secret. Such information cannot be disclosed by the ACA or shared with third parties, including other public institutions.
Crucially, the law also reinforces the ACA’s obligations to safeguard trade secrets during investigations. Any information submitted to or obtained by the authority must be kept confidential and may only be disclosed under strict conditions. This provides companies with greater assurance that proprietary data can be shared with regulators without risk of exposure.
Aligning with EU Standards: Vertical and Collaborative Agreements
The ACA is also preparing several draft by-laws that are currently under review by experts in the field, with the aim of harmonizing Albania’s rules with EU competition regulations. These include: (a) Regulation on Block Exemption for Categories of Vertical Agreements and Concerted Practices, which establishes the conditions under which certain vertical agreements between businesses at different levels of the supply chain are exempted from the general prohibition on anti-competitive agreements; (b) Instruction on Vertical Restraints, which provides detailed guidance on the interpretation of the regulation and on how to assess common restrictions (such as resale price maintenance, territorial restrictions, or online sales limitations); (c) Regulation on Block Exemption of Specialization Agreements, which sets the conditions under which specialization agreements are exempted from the general prohibition on anti-competitive agreements; and (d) Regulation on Block Exemption for Research and Development Agreements, which sets out the conditions under which certain cooperation in joint research and development projects is exempted from the general prohibition on anti-competitive agreements, provided that the parties remain within specified market share thresholds.
By Olsi Coku, Partner, and Frensis Nakuci, Senior Associate, Kalo & Associates
This article was originally published in Issue 12.9 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.
