Albania
8. Responsible Business Conduct
Public awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) in Albania is low, and CSR and RBC remains new concepts for much of the business community. The small level of CSR and RBC engagement in Albania comes primarily from international corporations operating in the energy, telecommunications, heavy industry, and banking sectors, and tends to focus on philanthropy and environmental issues. International organizations have recently improved efforts to promote CSR. Thanks to efforts by the international community and large international companies, the first Albanian CSR network was founded in March 2013 as a business-led, non-profit organization. The American Chamber of Commerce in Albania also formed a subcommittee in 2015 to promote CSR among its members.
Legislation governing CSR, labor, and employment rights, consumer protection, and environmental protection is robust, but enforcement and implementation are inconsistent. The Law on Commercial Companies and Entrepreneurs outlines generic corporate governance and accounting standards. According to that law and the Law on the National Business Registration Center, companies must disclose publicly when they change administrators and shareholders and to disclose financial statements. The Corporate Governance Code for unlisted joint stock companies incorporates the OECD definitions and principles on corporate governance but is not legally binding. The code provides guidance for Albanian companies and aims to provide best-practices while assisting Albanian companies to develop a governance framework.
Albania has been a member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) since 2013.
Department of State
- Country Reports on Human Rights Practices;
- Trafficking in Persons Report;
- Guidance on Implementing the “UN Guiding Principles” for Transactions Linked to Foreign Government End-Users for Products or Services with Surveillance Capabilities;
- U.S. National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; and;
- Xinjiang Supply Chain Business Advisory
Department of the Treasury
Department of Labor
Albania signed and ratified the Paris Agreement in 2016 and the Solidarity and Just Transition, Silesia Declaration in 2018. The country has committed to an effective transition to low GHG emissions. In 2019, Albania became member to the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) Partnership, showing its commitment to ambitious implementation of its NDC under the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. In July 2020, Albania submitted its National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) for the period 2021-2030 to the Energy Secretariat for formal recommendations. In December 2020, the country approved the law on Climate Change and is the process of approving its bylaws defining the mechanism for monitoring and reporting of GHG emissions. The government has drafted the National Plan for Energy and Climate 2021-2030, which outlines plans of the government to reduce GHG emissions. Albania has one of the lowest emissions per capita in Europe in part due hydropower dominating electricity generation and in part due to limited levels of industrial manufacturing.
9. Corruption
Endemic corruption continues to undermine the rule of law and jeopardize economic development. Foreign investors cite corruption including in the judiciary, a lack of transparency in public procurement, lack of transparency and competition, informal economy, and poor enforcement of contracts as some of the biggest problems in Albania. Despite some improvement in Albania’s score from 2013 to 2016, progress in tackling corruption has been slow and unsteady. In 2021, Albania’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) score was 35 and its ranking fell by six slots from 104 to 110, a significant decline from the 2016 score and rank of respectively 39 and 83. Albania is still one of the most corrupt countries in Europe, according to the CPI and other observers.
The country has a sound legal framework to prevent conflict of interest and to fight corruption of public officials and politicians, including their family members. However, law enforcement is jeopardized by a heavily corrupt judicial system.
The passage of constitutional amendments in July 2016 to reform the judicial system was a major step forward, and reform, once fully implemented, is expected to position the country as a more attractive destination for international investors. Judicial reform has been described as the most significant development in Albania since the end of communism, and nearly one-third of the constitution was rewritten as part of the effort. The reform also entails the passage of laws to ensure implementation of the constitutional amendments. Judicial reform’s vetting process will ensure that prosecutors and judges with unexplained wealth or insufficient training, or those who have issued questionable verdicts, are removed from the system. As of publication, more than half of the judges and prosecutors who have faced vetting have either failed or resigned. The establishment of the Special Prosecution Office Against Corruption (SPAK) and Organized Crime and of the National Investigation Bureau, two new judicial bodies, will step up the fight against corruption and organized crime. Once fully implemented, judicial reform will discourage corruption, promote foreign and domestic investment, and allow Albania to compete more successfully in the global economy.
The government has ratified several corruption-related international treaties and conventions and is a member of major international organizations and programs dealing with corruption and organized crime. Albania has ratified the Civil Law Convention on Corruption (Council of Europe), the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (Council of Europe), the Additional Protocol to Criminal Law Convention on Corruption (Council of Europe), and the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Albania has also ratified several key conventions in the broader field of economic crime, including the Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime (2001) and the Convention on Cybercrime (2002). Albania has been a member of the Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) since the ratification of the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption in 2001 and is a member of the Stability Pact Anti-Corruption Initiative (SPAI). Albania is not a member of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. Albania has adopted legislation for the protection of whistleblowers.
To curb corruption, the government announced a new online platform in 2017, “ Shqiperia qe Duam ” (“The Albania We Want”), which invites citizens to submit complaints and allegations of corruption and misuse of office by government officials. The platform has a dedicated link for businesses. The Integrated Services Delivery Agency (ADISA), a government entity, provides a second online portal to report corruption. Effectiveness of the portal is minimal.
In February 2020, GoA approved the establishment of the Special Anticorruption and Anti-Evasion Unit which operates under the Council of Ministers. The mission of the unit is the coordination between the main public institutions, agencies, and state-owned companies in order to discover, investigate and punish corruption and abusive practices. During 2021, the National Network of Anti-Corruption Coordinators, a structure that is under the Minister of Justice, who also serves as the National Coordinator against corruption, became functional. The coordinators are placed in seventeen institutions that have the highest public perception of corruption. The coordinators collect, process, and analyze complaints filed by the citizens and businesses and report to the law enforcement authorities if necessary.
Despite progress, corruption remains pervasive. Albania has yet to build a solid track record of investigations, prosecution, conviction, and confiscation of criminal assets resulting from corruption-related offences.
Interested parties can file a complaint related to corruption directly to the coordinators embedded in the various institutions or by writing directly to them in the following e-mail, koordinatori.ak@drejtesia.gov.al They can also use the anti-corruption platform by filing a complaint at shqiperiaqeduam.al