TIRANA, May 11 /ATA/ Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Monday that Albania is ahead of the curve in public procurement and well- positioned at the EU negotiation table.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Chapter 5 negotiator for ‘Public Procurement’ and Director General of the Public Procurement Agency, Reida Kashta (Shahollari), on key developments in the sector of public procurements, Rama noted: ‘Some of these statements may seem as if they refer to Albania, but they are actually drawn from a detailed report by the European Court of Auditors on public procurement in EU member states.
Rama underlined that he brought up this point both to frame today’s discussion and to give a clear perspective on Albania’s standing regarding one of the most important issues—the EU accession process, which is also highly significant for the European family as a whole.
Prime Minister Rama said he is pleased to share with the public the recent consecutive assessments that highlight Albania’s achievements, all based on evidence.
He went on saying that the report highlights a decline in competition for public contracts in recent years, a widespread lack of awareness that competition is essential for value for money, and unsatisfactory key competition indicators in most EU member states. Over a ten-year period, more than 40% of tenders had only a single bidder, reflecting limited competition that impacts prices and costs, while the average duration of procurement procedures has increased by around 50%.
Rama added that, meanwhile, transparency levels and the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises continue to be unsatisfactory.
“‘These are some of the conclusions in the European Court of Auditors’ report on EU countries. Meanwhile, if we put Albania’s position in context against the key indicators set by the EU, and look at the competitiveness table, the share of single-bidder contracts on average in EU countries is 32.3%, while in Albania it stands at 23.5%. In the overall overview of member states, there is a large group of countries ranging from 57.4% down to 35.8%. Albania falls within this group, alongside countries such as Sweden at 22.9%, Germany at 22.6%, Finland at 20.3%, and France at 20%, with our country slightly above them at 23.5%,’ he said.”
The Prime Minister highlighted that Albania exceeds the EU average in the number of bidders per procedure, averaging 3.7 compared with the EU average of 3.2. In 2025, 12% of public works contracts in Albania were awarded to a single bidder, below the EU average of 14%, according to the European Court of Auditors.
Rama emphasized that, on the basis of the facts, Albania is not only at a very advanced stage in this field but also well-positioned at the EU negotiation table.
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