The Peer Review on Competition Law and Policy is an exercise in which a country voluntarily has its Competition legal framework and institutional set-up evaluated by other countries. It presents a unique opportunity to discover strengths and weaknesses of the country’s competition system, to draw lessons from past experiences, to examine risks and opportunities and finally to propose improvements for the future. The fact that those conducting the evaluation are peer authorities is very convenient, because it allows the sharing of knowledge and experiences, while fostering international cooperation at the same time.
The Albanian Competition Agency (ACA) voluntarily requested to be Peer Reviewed during the Thirteenth Session of the IGE in 2013. Mr Kiril Pangelov, Director of ‘Legal Analyses and Competition Policy’ Directorate at the Bulgarian Competition Authority, was commissioned by UNCTAD to author the report that will serve as a basis for the peer review examination during the Seventh United Nations Review Conference in 2015.
The examination panel will include representatives of other competition authorities. In addition, speakers from the floor will be invited to contribute to the discussion. The objective of the session is to examine Albania’s competition situation and to provide an opportunity to all participants to exchange mutually enriching views and experiences.
The findings and policy recommendations of the Peer Review will be used to design a tailor-made technical assistance program for Albania with the objective to enhance its competition legal and institutional framework, as well as ACA’s capacity to effectively enforce the Competition Law and strengthen free competition in Albania. Development agencies, technical assistance providers, bilateral donors and international organizations are cordially invited to support this program.
