Skara Gentjan

skrgtj@unife.it

The argument of this thesis is that European integration process (Europeanization) is pushing applicant countries toward greater convergence with EU acquis. It is commonly agreed in academia that the prospective of membership has brought domestic changes in the candidate countries. In this context, this proposal will analyse the impact of Europeanization on Albanian competition policy. The principle research question that this research seeks to answer is as follow: under what conditions and how effective has been EU influence on Albania to change its domestic competition institutions and policies? By adopting a qualitative and qualitative methodology, this proposal aims to:

- provide legal framework of both EU and Albania competition law;

- analyse the legal framework of the contractual relations between EU and member states (ex parte) and Albania, focusing on article 70 (Approximation of Laws) and articles 71 and 72 (Law Enforcement and Competition Rules) of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement;

- study the legal obligation for approximation and implementation of EU competition rules;

- assess the degree of approximation and implementation of EU competition rules in Albania legal system;

- provide a summary of the gaps identified in Albanian competition law by comparing EU competition law (primary and secondary) that have been transposed partially or not at all in Albanian legislation;

- identify main problems encountered by Albanian Competition Authority in enforcing competition law; and

- develop recommendations for improving the approximation and enforceability of EU competition rules in Albanian legal system.

The significance of this study will be helpful in three aspects. Firstly, the outcome of this study will have a theoretical contribution in the field of Europeanization through providing a detailed analysis on the effect that European Integration process has on Albania competition policy. Secondly, this study further contributes to undertake a systematic investigation on the approximation of Albanian competition law, its implementation and identifying key problems during the enforcement process. Finally, the results of this study will be useful for Albanian government during the negotiation of EU acquis to speed up the process.