TIRANA, June 9 – Only around a quarter of fines imposed by the country’s Competition Authority since its establishment as a watchdog a decade ago have been collected, the Authority says in its 2014 annual report.
Data shows the Competition Authority has imposed a total of around 1 billion lek (€7.2 mln) in fines, but collected only around 260 million lek (€1.8 mln) with the assistance of debt collection agencies. Another 45 million lek (€317,000) or 4.5 percent of the total is being collected while the majority 731 million lek or 70 percent of total debts remain uncollected because of no final court decision.
In 2014, the Competition Authority imposed modest fines of only 200,000 lek (€1,400) against two oil and security companies but failed to find violations punishable by fine in the mobile phone, oil and insurance markets after thorough investigations.
For 2015, the Competition Authority says it is also monitoring the banking system and the products they offer including overdrafts and consumer loans whose interest rates are often considered unaffordable by households and businesses despite the key interest rate having dropped to a historic low of 2 percent.
Since its establishment in 2004, the Competition Authority has focused on promoting growth through reducing barriers to entry, increasing efficiency and liberalization as well as fighting banned deals and abuse of dominant position.
In its 2014 progress report on Albania, the European Commission notes some progress was made in the area of competition policy, mainly in anti-trust and mergers, while the Competition Authority continued to build its enforcement record.
