Constitutional Court strikes down oil monopoly backed up by government

TIRANA, July 27נThe Albanian Constitutional Court (ACC) blocked a government decision that gave a virtual monopoly to the former state-owned local refiner ARMO for the production and sale of D2 diesel, a lower quality diesel. According to importers, D2 diesel accounts for 75% of the local fuel market.
In its ruling, the court upheld an appeal submitted by a syndicate of fuel importers, who complained that the decision that ARMO should be the only supplier of D2 diesel created a virtual monopoly.
Last year, ARMO, was purchased for 128 million euro by a US and Swiss consortium headed by Anika Enterprise, a company controlled by Albanian businessman Rezart Taci.
Following the privatization, the government restricted the import of high-sulphur D2 diesel by other importers, leaving ARMO as the sole supplier. It claimed the decision was intended to protect Albania’s environment from the emissions problems caused by the low-quality fuel. Importers said that the move favored Anika Enterprise and ran his competitors out of business.
In addition, the ruling allows the oil importers’ cartel to sue the Albanian government for reparations for their losses, which they claim reach as high as 180 million euro.