On 15 September, Group for Legal and Political Studies organized a Press Conference on the topic: “(Un) equal: To what extend are the SAA objectives implemented in the field of competition?”, held in Prishtina. Given the importance that free and fair competition has in ensuring a functional market in Kosovo, GLPS drafted a Policy Report which analyzes the performance of the Kosovo Competition Authority. In addition, this report offers an analysis of the results stemming from the monitoring process of the National Programme for Implementation of the SAA (NPISAA) and the European Reform Agenda (ERA), with a particular reference in the field of competition, and identifies institutional achievements and their readiness to fulfill all the objectives that derive from these two strategic documents towards the implementation of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA). The data shows that until 2018, the Kosovo Competition Authority has received insufficient budget, which has negatively impacted the performance of this independent institution, preventing it from increasing internal capacities and their expertise. However, there has been an improvement and in 2018 the Authority has received an increased budget of approximately 31% higher, dedicated to salaries and per diems. This budgetary increase has enabled the Authority to significantly increase its capacities and establish four new divisions which are facilitating the overall management of the institution, as well as investigative cases handled by them. This activity was organized with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), managed by the Kosovo Foundation for Civil Society (KCSF). The content of this publication is a sole responsibility of the Group for Legal and Political Studies and does not reflect the opinions of Sida and KCSF.

To access the Policy Report, please click here.