Albania

Albania's Timeline

I. Overview
GATT application received	20/11/1992	L/7120
GATT accession Working Party established	2-3/12/1992	L/7120
GATT terms of reference & accession Working Party membership	16/12/1992	L/7154
WTO application received & WTO accession Working Party established	20/01/1995	WT/L/24 (Request to transform the Working Party on the Accession of Albania to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1947 into a WTO accession Working Party. As per document WT/L/24, the Working Party on the Accession of Albania to the GATT 1947 was transformed into a WTO Accession Working Party, in accordance with the decision adopted by the General Council on 31 January 1995. Document WT/L/24 also reproduced the name of the Chairperson and the terms of reference of the Working Party.)
WTO terms of reference & accession Working Party membership	06/05/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/5  + ( revisions)
Chairperson of the Accession Working Party
1st	02/1995 - 07/2000	Mr Antonio PINTO DE LEMOS (Portugal)
Formal Meetings of the Working Party	Date of the meeting	Convening notice	Statement(s) by the Head of the Delegation	Statement(s) by Working Party members	Delegation list	Other documents for the meeting	News item
1st	30/04/1996		—	—	—	—	—
2nd	26/10/1996		—	—	—	—	—
3rd	27/01/1999		—	—	—	—	—
4th	30/04/1999		—	—	—	—	—
5th	09/07/1999		—	—	—	—	—
6th	30/07/1999		—	—	—	—	—
7th	17/09/1999		—	—	—	—	—
8th	03/07/2000		—	—	—	—	—
Informal Meetings of the Working Party	Date of the meeting	Convening fax	Statement(s) by the Head of the Delegation
	—	—	—
Plurilateral Meetings	Date of the meeting	Convening fax	Statement(s) by the Head of the Delegation
	—	—	—
II. Multilateral Negotiations
Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR)	25/01/1995	L/7613   (+  corrigendum)
— updated information	26/08/1998	WT/ACC/ALB/25
Initial cycle(s) of Questions and Replies, following the circulation of the MFTR	13/09/1995	WT/ACC/ALB/3
	13/02/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/4   (+  corrigendum)
	08/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.1
	11/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.2
	14/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8
	14/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.3
	14/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.4
	14/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.5
	14/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.6
	14/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.7
	16/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.8
	23/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/8/Add.9
	04/08/1997	WT/ACC/ALB/23
	22/04/1998	WT/ACC/ALB/23/Rev.1
	30/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/29
Factual Summary of Points Raised	13/04/1999	Informal circulation.
Additional Questions & Replies	05/07/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/39
	20/08/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/39/Add.1
	05/10/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/49
Elements of a Draft Report of the Working Party	—	—
Draft Report of the Working Party	05/07/1999	WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/6  (+  revisions & corrigenda)
Agriculture (WT/ACC/22/Add.1), including Questions and Replies	25/08/1998	WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/4  (+  revisions & corrigenda)
	31/05/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/9
	30/07/1996	WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/1  (+  addendum & corrigendum)
SPS Checklist (WT/ACC/22/Add.2)	30/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/31  (+  revisions)
TBT Checklist (WT/ACC/22/Add.2)	30/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/32  (+  revisions)
TRIPS Questionnaire (WT/ACC/22/Add.2)	03/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/36
Import Licensing Procedures Questionnaire (WT/ACC/22 + revisions)	09/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/19
Customs Valuation Checklist (WT/ACC/22 + revisions)	24/09/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/16
State-Trading Questionnaire (WT/ACC/22 + revisions)	23/09/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/13  (+  addendum)
Draft Subsidies Notification (WT/ACC/22/Add.2)	—	—
Comprehensive Legislative Action Plan (LAP)	30/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/33  (+  revisions & corrigenda)
Rule-specific Action Plans	—	—
Legislation and implementing regulations	Click for details Hide details	Legislation notice		Notified legislation
	13/03/1995	WT/L/56		Law No. 7599, dated 2 September 1992, on Customs Code (French only)  Explanatory Notes to the Albanian Tariff Schedule (General Rules for the Interpretation of the Albanian Tariff Law No. 7733, dated 20 July 1993)  Law on Foreign Investments  Law No. 7681, dated 4 March 1993, on the Administration of Taxes  Decree No. 47 of the Council of Ministers, dated 7 February 1994, on Assessment Criteria of State Property to be Privatized or Bound to in Joint Ventures and the Fixing of Rentals for the State Objects Given for Use to a Third Party
	14/09/1995	WT/ACC/ALB/3/Add.1		Regulations for the Granting of a Licence to Operate as a Private Bank in the Republic of Albania, approved in June 1995  Albanian Procurement Law, approved by the Albanian Parliament on 26 July 1995
	13/05/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/6		Tariff Schedule  Law for Customs Valuation  Law on Free Trade Zones  Law on Priority Tourism Development Zones  Administrative Rules of the Department of Banking Supervision  Law on Industrial Property
	25/07/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/12		3 diskettes containing import and export statistics for 1995-1996  Statistics 1, 2, 3, 4 - January-December 1995, published by the Albanian Institute of Statistics  Main Economic Indicators October-December 1995, published by the Albanian Institute of Statistics  Quarterly Statistical Bulletin No.2 on Balance of Payments - December 1995, published by the Albanian National Bank  The Albanian tariff schedule 1995  Law No. 4625 of 24 December 1969 (Decree No. 7373 of 13 January 1990) On Veterinary Services  Law No. 7941 of 31 May 1995 On Food  Law No. 7659 of 12 January 1993 On Seeds and Seedlings  Law No. 7662 of 19 January 1993 On Plants Protection Services
	06/11/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/20		Law on Standardisation and Related Activities  Law for Activities of Insurance and Reinsurance  Law on Copyright  Overview on Privatization Process in Albania  Legal Acts of Albania Related to International Trade, March - October 1996  Regulation for the Granting of a License to Operate as a Bank in the Republic of Albania  The Strategy of State Banks Privatization  Law on Value Added Tax  1995 Annual Report for Social Insurance  1995 Insurance Institute Annual Report  Export - Import data for 1996 (diskette only)
	21/05/1997	WT/ACC/ALB/22		Unofficial translation of the Law on State Enterprises
	22/04/1998	WT/ACC/ALB/23/Rev.1		Law on Customs Tariffs  Law No. 7609 and amendments Law on Priority Tourism Development Zones (Law No. 7665) and amendments  Law for Telecommunications and amendments (Law No. 8038)  Law on Competition  Law No. 8044 Law on Insurance and Re-insurance Companies (Law No. 8081)  Law on Customs Valuation (Law No. 8187)  Customs Code – draft  Law on Excise Taxes (Law No. 7678) and amendments  Law on the Bank of Albania (Law No. 8269)  Strategy on Privatization  Law on Privatization  Maritime Code – draft  Law on Standardization – draft  Decree on the Code of Good Practice for Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards
	25/08/1998	WT/ACC/ALB/24		Customs Code of the Republic of Albania  Economic Policies and Development Tendencies of Albania in the Short and Medium Term  Mission Report on Maritime Legislation  Privatization Strategy of State Owned Companies in Primary Importance Sectors (December 1997)  Law No. 8301 "On Customs Duties Changes for Some Agricultural Inputs" (12 March 1998)  Law on Industrial Property (8 June 1994)  Law No. 8308 for Road Transports (18 March 1998)  Law No. 7923 for some Changes to Law No. 7564 of 19 May 1992 For Copyright (19 April 1995)  Law No. 8348 on Excise Taxes in the Republic of Albania  Law on Value Added Tax  Law No. 8306 on the Privatization Strategy of Primary Importance Sectors (14 March 1998)  Law No. 8334 on the Privatization of Commercial Enterprises which Function in Non strategic Sectors (23 April 1998)  Law No. 8365 banking Law of the Republic of Albania (2 July 1998)  Law No. 8112 on Some Changes in the Law 7971 of 26 July 1995, on Public Procurement, and Amended with Law 8074 of 22 February 1996 (28 March 1996)  Law for the Legal Profession in the Republic of Albania  Law No. 7829 for Notary (1 June 1994)  Law No. 7908 on Fishery and Aquaculture (5 April 1995)  Law for the Veterinary Service and Inspectorate (1993)  Law No. 7810 of Higher Education in the Republic of Albania (6 April 1994)  Draft Law on Undistributed Agricultural Lands  Draft Law on Leasing Agricultural Land, Forest Land, Meadows and Pastures which are State Property  Draft Law for the Transfer of Ownership of Agricultural Land, Meadows, Pastures and Forests  Draft Law on the Entry, Sojourn and Employment of Foreigners in the Republic of Albania  Draft Law on the Telecommunications Regulatory Body  Draft Law for Standardization and Related Activities
	14/12/1998	WT/ACC/ALB/26		Draft Law on Tertiary Education in Albania
	26/01/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/26/Add.1		Law on Excises in the Republic of Albania  Republic of Albania People's Assembly, Accounting Law No. 7661 of 19 January 1993  Law on Commercial Companies No. 7638 of 19 November 1992  Fiscal Statistics of Government 1998
	27/01/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/26/Add.2		Constitution of the Republic of Albania
	01/02/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/26/Add.3		Trade Statistics 1994-1998
	05/02/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/27		Strategy For Resolving The Issue Of The Inherited Foreign Debt Of Albania  On the Negotiations for the Conditions of Accession in the Albanian Goods Market  On Privatization and External Debt  Update on Licensing of Tradable Items
	29/04/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/33/Add.1		Law No. 8466 dated 24 March 1999 (04-22) on Antidumping
	30/04/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/37/Add.1		Customs Code on the Republic of Albania
	08/06/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/38		Customs Code of the Republic of Albania  Implementing Provisions on Customs Code  Law No. 8464, dated 11 March 1999 on Standardization  For the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Technical Regulation and the procedures for Assessment of Conformity with Technical Regulation and Standards  Decree for the Exchange of Information for Standards and Technical Regulations  Decision No. 242, dated 28 May 1999 the Approval of the Code of Good Practice for Adoption, Approval and Application of Standards  A Draft Decree on the Criteria and Competencies in the Fields of Standardization, Certification and Accreditation  Law No. 8466, dated 24 March 1999 on Antidumping  Law No. 8477, dated 22 April 1999 on some changes and supplements on the law No. 7819, dated 27 April 1994, for Industrial Property  Law No. 7564, dated 19 May 1992 On Copyright  Law No. 8488 Dated 13 May 1999 on Protection of Topographies of Integrated Circuits  Draft Law on the protection of personal data  Draft Law on the right to information over the official documents
	28/06/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/41		Decision No. 12 on the Rules of Public Procurement  Law No. 7971 on Public Procurement  Law No. 8112 on some changes in the Law 7971 on Public Procurement, amended with Law 8074  Council of Ministers Guidelines No. 1  General Conditions of Contract; Procurement of Works  Request for Quotation on Goods  Invitation to Quote for Small Works  Standard Bidding Document for Procurement of Goods  Standard Bidding Documents Approved by the Decree No. 12
	30/09/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/47		Draft Decision of the Council of Ministers on Implementing Provisions of the Customs Code
	30/09/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/48		Decision No. 435 dated 9 September 1999 for the Approval in Principle of the Document on the Rules of Origin, as Part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement
	23/06/2000	WT/ACC/ALB/50		Draft Law on The Supplement to the Law No. 8449, dated 27 January 1999 on Custom Code of the Republic of Albania  Draft Decision on The Supplement to the Council of Ministers Decision No. 205, dated 13 April 1999 on Implementing Provisions of the Custom Code
Consultation documents	Click for details Hide details	Consultation notice		Notified consultation document
	16/05/1995	WT/ACC/ALB/1 (+  revisions)		Checklist of documents
	17/05/1995	WT/ACC/ALB/2		Note on Intellectual property and Note on TRIMS
	24/06/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/10		Summaries of the main laws and other legal acts, related to the establishment of a market economy in Albania
	30/05/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/7		Communication from Albania - Services Offer
	10/07/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/11		Data on Albanian trade performance
	24/09/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/15		Information on Technical Barriers to Trade
	24/09/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/14		Note on Services
	25/09/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/17		Information on the basic legal framework for privatisation in agriculture
	09/10/1996	WT/ACC/ALB/18		Information on the Regulation of Pesticides in Agriculture and on the Registration of Pharmaceuticals
	26/08/1998	WT/ACC/ALB/25		Information concerning the economy and the foreign trade regime
	30/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/28		Information Concerning Progress in the Privatisation Process
	30/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/30		Memorandum on Conformity with Trade-Related Investment Measures
	30/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/34 (+  corrigendum & revision)		Memorandum on Restrictions and Prohibition for Exportable Products
	30/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/35 (+  revision)		Memorandum on Restrictions and Prohibition for Importable Products
	30/03/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/36		Memorandum on Conformity of Trade–Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) With the WTO
	29/04/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/37		Customs Tariff
	23/06/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/40 (+  revisions)		Chart on draft laws
	02/07/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/42		Memorandum on Compliance with the Agreement on Government Procurement
	03/09/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/43		Information related to the Customs Code
	17/09/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/44		Additional Information on Trade and Investment Agreements
	30/09/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/46		Implementing Provisions of the Customs Code
	01/10/1999	WT/ACC/ALB/45		Note to the WTO Secretariat on the Changes to Albanian Documentation from the Sixth Working Party Session
III. Bilateral Market Access Negotiations
Goods Offer(s)	14/05/1997	WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/3  (+  revisions, addendum & corrigendum)
Services Offer(s)	14/05/1997	WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/2
Register of Bilateral Market Access Agreements
Draft Goods Schedule	14/05/1997	WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/3/Rev.6  (+  corrigenda)
Draft Services Schedule	25/08/1998	WT/ACC/SPEC/ALB/5  (+  revisions & corrigenda)
Goods and Services Technical Verification Meetings	—	—
IV. Summary of Final Meeting of the Working Party
—	—
V. Accession Package (“Terms of Accession”, de-restricted)
Ministerial Conference/General Council Decision on the Accession	17 /07/2000	WT/ACC/ALB/52 (+  corrigendum)
Protocol of Accession	17 /07/2000	WT/ACC/ALB/53 (+  corrigendum)
Report of the Working Party	14/07/2000	WT/ACC/ALB/51 (+  corrigendum)
Goods Schedule (Schedule of Concessions and Commitments Annexed to the GATT 1994)	06/07/2000	WT/ACC/ALB/51/Add.1
Services Schedule (Schedule of Specific Commitments Annexed to the GATS)	13/07/2000	WT/ACC/ALB/51/Add.2 (+  corrigenda)
VI. Accessions Commitments Database (ACDB)
Specific Accession Commitments	http://acdb.wto.org/ click on “Report by Member”, select “Albania” in drop down list then click on “View Report”
VII. Instrument of Acceptance
Notification of Acceptance and Entry Into Force of the Protocol of Accession	09/08/2000	WT/LET/353
VIII. Date of Membership
	08/09/2000	138th Member				News item
IX. Since 1995, this is the…
10th economy that joined the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement.

Note:
The de-restriction of documents is a key component of the transparency obligations of the Multilateral Trading System.  Paragraphs 1 and 2(e) of the Ministerial Council Decision WT/L/452 of 14 May 2002 provide that “documents relating to working parties on accession shall be restricted and shall be automatically de-restricted upon the adoption of the report of the working party” by the Ministerial Conference/General Council.  The time of completion of the de-restriction process depends on the amount and complexities of the documents involved.  Prior to 2002, the de-restriction of accession-related documents was governed by a different set of rules (i.e. General Council Decision WT/L/160/Rev.1 of 26 July 1996), which only affect documents circulated prior to 2002.