2015 SBA Fact Sheet

Albania

Key points
Past and future SME performance: In Albania, over 80% of all employment is in SMEs, compared to the EU average of around 67%.
Albanian SMEs provide about 68% of the country's total value added, while the average in the EU is about 58%. In 2013, value
added dropped by 3.6% compared to 2012. In parallel, employment increased by close to 10%, and the number of businesses grew
by 1.7%. Real GDP is expected to grow by 3.3% in 2015 and by 4.2% in 2016. The growth is almost solely driven by internal
demand. Forecasts also point to falling unemployment rates. Due to the fact that the Albanian economy is led by SMEs, it is expected
that the projected economic upswing will result in increased SME employment and output growth.

Implementing the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA): The SBA profile of Albania is inconclusive, as many data are not available.
Overall results thus need to be interpreted with caution. That said, Albania has undertaken important reforms to improve the business
environment. A one-stop shop was set up for swift and inexpensive registration of new businesses. E-procurement has been
introduced. Various administrative issues can be resolved online. Tax procedures have been simplified. Recent policy measures have
mainly focused on entrepreneurship, 'second chance', 'responsive administration' and skills & innovation.

SME policy priorities: Further steps need to be taken to improve access to finance, such as developing the venture capital market. For
businesses to find qualified staff, it is essential to continue setting up the framework for developing skills. Specific measures are
required to strengthen the innovation capacity of SMEs. The introduction of incubators, clusters and technological parks deserves
more emphasis. Enhanced public support is needed to increase exports of the Albanian SMEs. A full regulatory impact assessment is
to be introduced for all legislative proposals affecting businesses.

Value added of SMEs

Number of persons employed in SMEs

(Index: 2008=100)

(Index: 2008=100)
160
150
140
130
120
110
100
90
80

130
120
110
100
90
80
2008

2009

2010

SMEs in Albania

2011

2012

2008

SMEs in the European Union

2009

SMEs in Albania

2010

2011

2012

SMEs in the European Union

About the SBA fact sheets

The Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) is the EUs flagship policy initiative to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). It comprises a
set of policy measures organised around 10 principles ranging from entrepreneurship and 'responsive administration' to internationalisation. To
improve the governance of the SBA, the 2011 review of it called for better monitoring. The SBA fact sheets, published annually, aim to improve
the understanding of recent trends and national policies affecting SMEs. Since 2011, each EU Member State has appointed a high-ranking
government official as its national SME envoy. SME envoys spearhead the implementation of the SBA agenda in their countries.
Internal market,
industry,
entrepreneurship
and SMEs

Table of Contents
1.
2.
3.

SMEs basic figures ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2

SBA profile ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 3
SBA principles ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
3.0 'Think Small First' ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
3.1 Entrepreneurship............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
3.2 'Second chance' ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
3.3 'Responsive administration' ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 6
3.4 State aid & public procurement ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
3.5 Access to finance.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 7
3.6 Single market ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
3.7 Skills & innovation ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
3.8 Environment ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 8
3.9 Internationalisation ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
4.
Interesting new initiative................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 9

1. SMEs basic figures

Number of enterprises
Albania
EU-28
Micro
Small

Number of persons employed

Albania
EU-28

Value added
Albania

EU-28

Number
73 916

Share
95.1 %

Share
92.7 %

Number
139 120

Share
43.4 %

Share
29.2 %

Billion
1

Share
25.2 %

Share
21.1 %

3 026

3.9 %

6.1 %

58 067

18.1 %

20.4 %

22.4 %

18.2 %

Medium-sized
SMEs
Large

678
77 620

0.9 %
99.9 %

1.0 %
99.8 %

62 362
259 549

19.5 %
81.0 %

17.3 %
66.9 %

1
2

20.1 %
67.7 %

18.5 %
57.8 %

99

0.1 %

0.2 %

60 823

19.0 %

33.1 %

32.3 %

42.2 %

Total

77 719

100.0 %

100.0 %

320 373

100.0 %

100.0 %

100.0 %

100.0 %

These are data for 2013 provided by the national statistical office of Albania and Structural Business Statistics Database (Eurostat) and
were processed by DIW Econ. The data cover the 'non-financial business economy', which includes industry, construction, trade, and
services (NACE Rev. 2 sections B to J, L, M and N), but not enterprises in agriculture, forestry and fisheries and the largely non-market
service sectors such as education and health. The advantage of using Eurostat data is that the statistics are harmonised and
comparable across countries. The disadvantage is that for some countries the data may be different from those published by national
authorities.

SMEs are of the utmost importance for Albania's 'non-financial

business economy'. Namely, over 80% of all employment is in
SMEs, compared to the EU average of around 67%. SMEs
provide about 68% of the total value added in Albania, while the
average in the EU is about 58%. Almost half of all SMEs are in
the wholesale and retail trade sector, accounting for
approximately a third of SME employment and value added. The
accommodation and food services sector ranks second, at nearly
one fifth of the total number of SMEs, more than twice the EU
average.
In 2013, value added in the 'non-financial business economy'
dropped by 3.6% as compared to 2012. In parallel, employment
increased by almost 10%, and the number of businesses grew
by 1.7%. Employment in medium-sized enterprises with 50-249
persons employed grew the fastest, by 20%.

2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

One of the sectors contributing to increased employment is

transportation and storage, with an employment growth of 7%
within one year, which was accompanied by an increase of
investments. This sector accounts for 17% of all investment,
more than any other sector.1 Investments are focused on human
resources and modern technologies.2 Moreover, the World Bank
has provided financial support and expertise to establish a
modern infrastructure network and transport system.3 This
support, together with government efforts to improve the
countrys infrastructure, is driving the development of the
transport sector.4
The government tries to foster economic growth by setting up
economic zones (industrial parks and free zones).5 The
development of these zones is based on public/private
partnerships.6 One of the sectors profiting from this is the real
estate activities sector. With a 15% increase in value added and
2

a 4% increase in employment, this sector performed better than

the Albanian economy in general.
The investments in infrastructure and real estate activities
supported growth of the construction sector, in which SME value
added increased by 60% between 2008 and 2012, while
employment remained stable. However, growth eventually
slowed down, as many larger construction projects were finished.
SME value added dropped by two percentage points and value
added by nine percentage points in 2012-13. Huge delays in
payments from state institutions for the public works performed
by private companies also had negative effects on businesses. 7
In 2013, the number of active businesses increased by 4.4%
compared with 2012. 70% of these companies were part of the
'non-financial business economy'. There were 12131 newly
registered firms recorded during 2013, compared with 12828 in

2012 and 12905 in 2011.8 More than 90% of these new firms
were sole entrepreneurs or had less than four employees. Also,
9353 of the new firms were either in retail trade,
accommodation and food services or other services.
Manufacturing plays a minor role.9 According to the most recent
estimates, company deregistration amounted to 3304, which is
26% lower than in the previous year.10 The number of start-ups
was expected to increase in 2014, due to the positive stimulus
of new government programs and subsidies to promote start-up
activities.11
Real GDP is expected to grow by 3.3% in 2015 and by 4.2% in
2016.12 The growth is almost solely driven by internal demand.
Forecasts also point to falling unemployment rates.13 Due to the
fact that the Albanian 'non-financial business economy' is led by
SMEs, it is expected that the projected economic upswing will
result in increased SME employment and output growth.

2. SBA profile14
In 2014 and the first quarter of 2015, Albania has adopted or
announced several policy measures, mainly addressing four out
of the ten policy areas under the SBA, i.e. entrepreneurship,
'second chance', 'responsive administration' and skills &
innovation. Additional policy measures have been announced in
the areas of state aid & public procurement, access to finance
and internationalisation. SME stakeholders acknowledge that
some progress has been made recently in implementing the SBA.
Entrepreneurship and 'responsive administration' progressed the
most. The 'National Employment and Skills Strategy 2014-2020'
was adopted, aiming to enhance employment by creating quality
jobs and by fostering skills of the labour force. Particular
attention has been paid to supporting female entrepreneurship.
The 'National Business Development and Investment Strategy
2014-2020' has been adopted in 2014, aimed at simplifying
regulatory procedures, reduce administrative costs, improve
entrepreneurial capacity, provide grants to SMEs and enhance
their competitiveness.
The SBA profile of Albania is inconclusive, as many data are not
available. Overall results thus need to be interpreted with
caution.
Since 2008, progress has been achieved in implementing the
SBA. Albania has undertaken important reforms to improve the
business environment. A one-stop shop was set up for swift and
inexpensive registration of new businesses. E-procurement has
been introduced and various administrative issues can be
resolved online. Tax procedures have been simplified. The
governmental body in charge of SME policy is the Department
for entrepreneurial support at the Ministry of Economic
Development, Tourism, Trade and Entrepreneurship.

2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

Further steps need to be taken to improve access to finance,

such as developing the venture capital market. For businesses to
find qualified staff, it is essential to continue setting up the
framework for developing skills. Specific measures are required
to strengthen the innovation capacity of SMEs. The introduction
of incubators, clusters and technological parks deserves more
emphasis. Enhanced public support is needed to increase exports
of the Albanian SMEs. A full regulatory impact assessment is to
be introduced for all legislative proposals affecting businesses.

SBA performance of Albania: state of play and development from 2008 to 201515

3. SBA principles16
3.0 'Think Small First'
The 'think small first' principle is meant to be a guiding principle
for all policy- and law-making activities. It requires policymakers to take SME interests into account at the early stages of
the policy-making process. The principle also calls for newly
designed legislation, administrative rules and procedures to be
made simple and easy to apply.
In Albania, the regulatory impact assessment system (RIA light)
aims to ensure the quality of new legislative proposals. However,
it is not used systematically, thus some regulations with
significant impact on SMEs have been adopted without it. The
process of consulting SME stakeholders during the legislative
process has been somewhat improved, as the corresponding

2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

drafts are shared with them at an earlier stage. Nonetheless,

they feel that their inputs are only taken into account to a rather
limited degree. A comprehensive 'SME test' is yet to be
introduced, but the pilot testing has already started. The
corresponding methodology has been developed and includes
consultation with SMEs, preliminary assessment of the
businesses likely to be affected, measurement of the impact on
SMEs (i.e. cost/benefit analysis), and mitigating measures. An
administrative court is in place, aiming to resolve business
related disputes in less than 30 days. The inspection system has
been reformed, aiming to increase transparency of the process
and better equip the inspectors with the skills and tools needed
for an efficient work in this specific field.

3.1 Entrepreneurship
There is no data available for Albania for the indicators related
to entrepreneurship. It is thus not possible to draw any
corresponding conclusions on Albanian performance on this
principle.
Policy measures in previous years included the introduction of
the 'basics of entrepreneurship' module as a compulsory subject
in vocational education curricula. Nearly 7000 students benefit
from this initiative. The 'junior achievement' module, which was
made available as a non-compulsory subject in the secondary
schools, was introduced at 94 vocational high schools and
gymnasiums. It encourages students to establish their own
businesses.

The 'National Employment and Skills Strategy 2014-2020' was

prepared by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Youth and
adopted by the government. The strategy aims to enhance
employment by creating quality jobs and by fostering skills of
the labour force. Self-employment, especially of the young
population, is encouraged. Particular attention has been paid to
supporting female entrepreneurship. Projects addressing
disadvantaged people have been launched, for example through
the 'Employment Promotion Programme for disabled people'.
Introduction of the dual educational system is envisaged,
combining vocational courses and apprenticeships in companies.

3.2 'Second chance'

Variation from the EU average
(measured in standard deviations, EU average=0)
Time to resolve insolvency (in years); 2015; Albania: 2; EU avg: 2.01
Cost of resolving insolvency (cost of recovering debt as percentage of the
debtor's estate); 2015; Albania: 10; EU avg: 10.25

-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Note: Data bars pointing right show better performance than the EU average and data bars pointing left show weaker performance.
Second chance' refers to ensuring that honest entrepreneurs
who have gone bankrupt get a second chance quickly. There is
no sufficient data available for Albania for the indicators related
to 'second chance' and it is thus not possible to draw any
general conclusions on Albanian performance on this principle. It
is however notable that the time to resolve insolvency (2 years)
as well as its relative cost (10% of the debtor's estate) are
practically the same as on average in the EU.

2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

Over the past years, policy measures such as the establishment

of the Agency for Bankruptcy Supervision have been
implemented. National standards for the administration of
bankruptcy as well as the code of ethics for bankruptcy
administrators have been adopted. In 2014, bankruptcy
procedures have been modified, aiming to reduce the duration of
the bankruptcy procedures and diminishing the associated costs.

3.3 'Responsive administration'

Variation from the EU average
(measured in standard deviations, EU average=0)
Paid-in minimum capital (percentage of income per capita); 2015; Albania:
0; EU avg: 11.26
Time required to transfer property (in calendar days); 2015; Albania: 22; EU
avg: 25.57
Cost required to transfer property (percentage of property value); 2015;
Albania: 9.9; EU avg: 4.45
Number of tax payments per year; 2015; Albania: 34; EU avg: 11.68
Time it takes to pay taxes (hours per year); 2015; Albania: 357; EU avg:
189.16
Cost of enforcing contracts (percentage of claim); 2015; Albania: 34.9; EU
avg: 21.54
Burden of government regulations (1=burdensome, 7=not burdensome);
2014; Albania: 4; EU avg: 3.22

-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Note: Data bars pointing right show better performance than the EU average and data bars pointing left show weaker performance.
'Responsive administration' refers to public administration being
responsive to the needs of the SMEs. On this principle, under
which the data is missing for six corresponding indicators,
Albania performs below the EU average. There has been
significant progress done over the last decade, such as in
decreasing the requested paid-in minimum capital, as well as in
reducing the burden of government regulations. Both of these
two indicators show performance above the one of the EU. Time
required to transfer property has reduced significantly (and now
stands at 22 days in Albania against over 25 days in the EU), but
the relative cost of doing so (measured in percentage of the
property value) is twice of the cost in the EU. The cost of
enforcing contracts, as a percentage of the claim, is over half
more expensive than in the EU. Most importantly, not only a
higher number of tax payments per year are requested in
Albania (34) than in average in the EU (12), and it takes almost
twice as much time to comply with tax obligations than in the
EU.

In terms of policy measures adopted over the past years,

Albania simplified much of the legislation related to business
registration, licensing, etc. The National Registration Centre was
set up, being the one-stop shop for swift and inexpensive
registration of new businesses. Online services have been
introduced, for example concerning customs procedures and
filling of tax returns. This reduces time and costs for complying
with administrative obligations. The 'National Business
Development and Investment Strategy 2014-2020' has been
adopted in 2014, aimed at simplifying regulatory procedures,
reduce administrative costs, improve entrepreneurial capacity,
provide grants to SMEs and enhance their competitiveness.
Within the framework of this strategy, the 'Fason package' was
launched, related to the manufacturing industry and aiming to
streamline administrative procedures and providing various
incentives, for example regarding the VAT exemptions. The
programme for reduction of regulatory burdens has been
launched by the National License Centre, National Register
Centre and the Ministry of Economic Development, Tourism,
Trade and Entrepreneurs.

3.4 State aid & public procurement

There is no data available for Albania for the indicators related
to state aid & public procurement. It is thus not possible to draw
any corresponding conclusions on Albanian performance on this
principle.
Policy wise, a reform in the public procurement area has taken
place. Since 2013, low-value procurement (of less than

2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

EUR2860) is done electronically. Corresponding trainings were

provided by the Public Procurement Agency. During 2014 and
the first quarter of 2015, no new measures were introduced.
One measure has however been announced, aiming to increase
efficiency and transparency of public procurement.

3.5 Access to finance

Variation from the EU average
(measured in standard deviations, EU average=0)
Rejected loan applications and unacceptable loan offers (percentage of loan
applications by SMEs); 2013; Albania: 4.1; EU avg: 16.66
Access to public financial support including guarantees (percentage of
respondents that indicated a deterioration); 2013; Albania: 4.4; EU avg: 21.36
Willingness of banks to provide a loan (percentage of respondents that indicated
a deterioration); 2013; Albania: 26.6; EU avg: 21.17
Strength of legal rights index (0-12); 2015; Albania: 7; EU avg: 5.75

-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Note: Data bars pointing right show better performance than the EU average and data bars pointing left show weaker performance.
Albanian performance on the principle access to finance, under
which the data for Albania is not available for four
corresponding indicators, is above the EU average. As per the
data from 2013, there wasn't any significant deterioration in
access to public financial support including guarantees in
Albania, and a large majority of the loan applications of the
SMEs were successful. In contrast, higher share of respondents
in Albania indicated deterioration in willingness of banks to
provide loans than it was the case in the EU.
Albania introduced several policy measures during the past
years to facilitate access to finance, including soft loan scheme
and development of business environment supportive of timely

payments in commercial transactions. A regulation concerning

cost-sharing schemes to help craftsmen was adopted. The
Tirana Stock Exchange was put on hold in early 2015, as no
company has been listed since its establishment over a decade
ago. The credit guarantee schemes depend on foreign donations.
Microfinance is widely present, and corresponding legal
framework is in place. Venture capital market is in its early stage
of development. No significant new measures were adopted in
2014 and the first quarter of 2015. One measure was
announced, aiming to provide loans with subsidised interest rate
for the female entrepreneurs and grants for start-ups. However,
access to finance remains one of the key obstacles for doing
business in Albania.

3.6 Single market

As Albania is not an EU Member State, no relevant comparable
data can be retrieved regarding the single market.

In terms of policy measures related to the EU single market,

worth mentioning is that a large majority of the EU standards
have been adopted by Albania.

3.7 Skills & innovation

There is no data available for Albania for the indicators related
to skills & innovation. It is thus not possible to draw any
corresponding conclusions on Albanian performance on this
principle.
Policy measures introduced in the previous years included a
business plan competition for innovative start-ups, targeting
particularly young people, as well as adoption of various policy
documents addressing innovation and technology transfer. In
2014, the Albanian Investment Development Agency (AIDA) has
provided public grants to SMEs through the 'Competitiveness
Fund 2013-2015' and the newly established 'Innovation Fund

2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

2015-2017", aiming to improve the quality of exported products

as well as to diversify and increase the exports. Innovation is
however still addressed mainly on ad-hoc basis, without a
coherent national strategy dedicated specifically to innovation.
Specific measures are needed to strengthen the innovation
capacity. Establishing stronger links between science, technology,
higher education and businesses is indispensable for developing
innovation culture and improving the human capital. Trainings
need to be further aligned with the needs of the labour market.
The introduction of incubators, clusters and technological parks
deserves more emphasis.

3.8 Environment
Variation from the EU average
(measured in standard deviations, EU average=0)
Percentage of SMEs that have taken resource-efficiency measures; 2013;
Albania: 77; EU avg: 95
Percentage of SMEs that have benefited from public support measures for
their resource-efficiency actions; 2013; Albania: 0; EU avg: 35
Percentage of SMEs that offer green products or services; 2013; Albania: 9;
EU avg: 26
Percentage of SMEs with a turnover share of more than 50% generated by
green products or services; 2013; Albania: 0; EU avg: 22
Percentage of SMEs that have benefited from public support measures for
their production of green products; 2013; Albania: 22; EU avg: 26

-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Note: Data bars pointing right show better performance than the EU average and data bars pointing left show weaker performance.
The performance of Albania regarding environment is far below
the EU average. Although the results need to be interpreted with
caution due to the relatively low number of companies surveyed,
all individual indicators under this principle show that there is
need for improvement.

In terms of policy measures introduced over the past years, the

EU eco-label was introduced, promoting environmentally friendly
production. In 2014 and the first quarter of 2015, no significant
new measures were introduced or announced.

3.9 Internationalisation
Variation from the EU average
(measured in standard deviations, EU average=0)
Cost required to import (in USD); 2015; Albania: 730; EU avg: 1079.54
Time required to import (in days); 2015; Albania: 18; EU avg: 10.64
Number of documents required to import; 2015; Albania: 8; EU avg: 4.64
Cost required to export (in USD); 2015; Albania: 745; EU avg: 1042.14
Time required to export (in days); 2015; Albania: 19; EU avg: 11.57
Number of documents required to export; 2015; Albania: 7; EU avg: 4.14

-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Note: Data bars pointing right show better performance than the EU average and data bars pointing left show weaker performance.
Regarding the principle internationalisation, Albania performs
within the EU average. This is mainly due to the costs of
exporting and importing being lower than on average in the EU.
However, it takes much longer and requires a higher number of
documents to do so in Albania as compared to the EU. There has
been no change since 2012 in any of the individual indicators'
scores under this principle.

2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

Over the past years, an important policy measure was the

establishment of the Albanian Investment Development Agency
(AIDA). In partnership with other relevant organisations, AIDA
carries out export promotion activities and provides financing as
presented in the above section 3.7. In 2014 and the first quarter
of 2015, no significant new measures were introduced. One
policy measure was announced, aiming to enhance regional
cooperation by reducing some of the existing trade barriers.

4. Interesting new initiative

Below is an example of a new initiative from Albania to show what governments can do to support SMEs.

The 'Fason industry incentives package'

The 'Fason Industry Incentives Package' addresses manufacturing (sectors such as textile, leather and footwear) and was adopted in
2014. The package aims to simplify measures and administrative procedures for businesses in these sectors, such as improving value
added tax reimbursements and exemptions, reducing the time for complying with tax obligations, enhancing the dialogue between
businesses and public administration, etc. All these measures contribute to enhanced technological development. This package is one
of the main measures announced and implemented during the 2014-2015 period and is a part of the National Business Development
and Investment Strategy 2014-2020.
The package was based on a number of proposals arising from the inward processing industry. A help desk was set up to provide
information to businesses on the legislation that affects them. An awareness-raising campaign was also carried out by phone,
reaching out to 150 organisations. A directory of 'fason-related' businesses was established, with 206 undertakings identified and
contacted. The initiative has led to job creation, and increased exports.
References:
http://www.ekonomia.gov.al/al/dokumente/pdf/paketa-fason&page=1

2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

Important remarks
The European Commission Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) produces the
SBA fact sheets as part of the SME Performance Review (SPR), its main vehicle for economic analysis of SME issues. They
combine the latest available statistical and policy information for the 28 EU Member States and 7 non-EU countries that also
contribute to the COSME programme. Produced annually, they help to organise the available information to facilitate SME policy
assessments and monitor SBA implementation. They take stock and record progress. They are not an assessment of Member
State policies. Rather, they should be regarded as an additional source of information to improve evidence-based policy-making.
For example, they cite only policy measures national SME policy experts consider relevant. They do not and cannot reflect all
measures the government has taken over the reference period. There is more policy information on a database accessible from
the SPR website.
SME Performance Review:
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/performance-review/index_en.htm
grow-spr@ec.europa.eu
Small Business Act:
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/small-business-act/index_en.htm
European Small Business Portal:
http://ec.europa.eu/small-business/index_en.htm

Endnotes

http://www.instat.gov.al/, last accessed 11.03.2015.

http://www.monitor.al/investimet-e-huaja-rritje-12-ne-6-mujorin-e-pare-2013/ and http://www.instat.gov.al/, last accessed

11.03.2015.
2

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/albania/overview#3, last accessed 18.03.2015.

http://www.monitor.al/investimet-e-huaja-rritje-12-ne-6-mujorin-e-pare-2013/;
11.03.2015.
4

http://www.instat.gov.al/,

last

accessed

http://www.tirana.gov.al/repository/docs/zonat-mundesi-zhv-ekon-tirane.pdf, last accesses 11.03.2015.

Law No. 9789, On the establishment and operation of economic zones and Council of Ministers Decision No. 860, On approval
of Regulation for the establishment and operation of economic zones http://www.tirana.gov.al/repository/docs/zonat-mundesizhv-ekon-tirane.pdf, last accessed 11.03.2015.
6

Remark by country expert.

INSTAT 2014, Business Register 2013, page 45 http://www.instat.gov.al/media/247026/regjistri_ndermarrjeve_2013.pdf. last

accessed 18.3.2015.
8

Ibid, p. 19.

INSTAT 2014, Business Register 2013, http://www.instat.gov.al/media/247026/regjistri_ndermarrjeve_2013.pdf. last accessed

18.3.2015.
10

11

INSTAT 2013: Results of structural Survey of Economic Enterprises 2013. http://www.instat.gov.al/media/282665/asn_2013.pdf

World Bank, Global Economic Prospects,

http://databank.worldbank.org/data/views/variableselection/selectvariables.aspx?source=global-economic-prospects, last accessed
11.3.2015.
12

2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

10

European Commission (2014): Economic and Fiscal Programmes of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Commissions
country assessments, http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/occasional_paper/2014/pdf/ocp198_en.pdf, last accessed
18.3.2015.
13

The 2015 SBA fact sheets benefited substantially from input from the European Commissions Joint Research Centre (JRC) in
Ispra, Italy. The JRC made major improvements to the methodological approach, statistical work on the dataset and the visual
presentation of the data.
14

The quadrant chart combines two sets of information. Firstly, it shows current performance based on data for the latest
available years. This information is plotted along the X-axis measured in standard deviations of the simple, non-weighted
arithmetical average for the EU-28. Secondly, it shows progress over time, i.e. the average annual growth rates from 2008 to
2015. These are measured against the individual indicators which make up the SBA area averages. Hence, the location of a
particular SBA area average in any of the four quadrants provides information not only about where the country is located in this
SBA area relative to the EU average at a given point in time, but also about the extent of progress made between 2008 and
2015. All SBA principles, with the exception of the think small first principle for which there is not enough statistical data
available, are calculated as composite indicators following the OECD/JRC Handbook guide. For more information on the
methodology see Saisana and Dominquez-Torreiro 2015 on the webpage of the SME Performance Review:
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/business-friendly-environment/performance-review/index_en.htm
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The policy measures presented in this SBA fact sheet are only a selection of the measures the government took in 2014 and
the first quarter of 2015. The national SME policy expert that CARSA Spain (DG GROWs lead contractor for the 2015 SBA fact
sheets) contracted made the selection. The experts were asked to select only the measures they considered the most important,
i.e. the ones expected to have the highest impact in the SBA area in question. The complete range of measures the experts
compiled in producing this years fact sheets will be published alongside the fact sheets in the form of a policy database on the
DG GROW website.
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2015 SBA Fact Sheet Albania

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