On 24 April, the Foreign Investors Association of Albania (FIAA), in cooperation with the Cooperation and Development Institute (CDI), hosted a roundtable on 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗮’𝘀 𝗘𝗨 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮 & 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 – 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.
The discussion brought together key stakeholders, including the 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘜 𝘊𝘰𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘈𝘭𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘢, the 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘔𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, and representatives from 𝘚𝘈𝘚𝘗𝘈𝘊, who engaged directly with the business community and expressed openness to stronger collaboration in advancing high-quality EU reforms.
The roundtable focused on aligning reform commitments with business realities by highlighting key measures affecting the private sector, clarifying compliance requirements, and providing a platform for companies to share implementation challenges and contribute to reform monitoring.
𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀:
• Strengthening the investment climate through FDI and business environment reforms, including deregulation and modernization.
• Enhancing transparency and governance of investments, including State-Owned
Enterprises and State Aid, in line with EU standards.
Albania’s EU Reform Agenda under the Growth Plan includes 31 reforms, 19 of which directly or indirectly impact the private sector. These span regulatory alignment, market access, taxation, employment, data governance, and digital infrastructure, core elements shaping a predictable and competitive business environment on the path to the EU Single Market.
However, findings from the FIAA Business Environment Survey 2025 highlight a persistent gap: while 98% of foreign investors are keen to understand the benefits of EU accession, compliance obligations remain insufficiently understood and anticipated.
𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:
• Establish clear mechanisms and timelines for stakeholder feedback
• Develop a transparent and secure consultation platform
• Leverage digital tools to strengthen consultation capacity
• Introduce structured transition and grace periods for reforms
• Publish clear implementation roadmaps (e.g. electricity law)
• Standardize regulatory interpretation and enforcement
• Set measurable milestones for VAT and SAF-T implementation
• Provide targeted support for emerging energy producers
This event is part of the initiative “Increasing Albanian Civic Engagement Footprint in the Growth Plan,” implemented by CDI with the support of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Albania.
FIAA thanks the participating members for their valuable input: Ayen Energy Trading, ANTEA Cement Sh. A., Deloitte, Intracom Telecom, One Albania, OTP Bank Albania, ProCredit Bank Albania, Statkraft, Voltalia, Vodafone.