Improving the Border Agency Cooperation
Among the OIC Member States for Facilitating Trade
103
Assistance and Information Exchange (TAIEX) project of the European Commission which
offers technical assistance and capacity building through trainings on the approximation,
application and enforcement of EU legislation as well the facilitation and sharing of EU best
practices.188 Trainings have been conducted with regard to the import of plants. 189
4.4.3. Summary and discussions
There are several ongoing BAC initiatives in Albania, but many of them are still at an early
stage. The country benefits largely from the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)
that is advancing full liberalization of trade in the region through elimination of non-tariff
barriers to trade. Another highly beneficial international BAC arrangement is connected to the
Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) of the European Union: the Instrument is a
powerful driving force of the customs modernization in Albania in terms of legal reforms, ICT
development, training, and other areas customs capacity building. Outside these two regional
BAC arrangements, Albania also has agreed on bilateral arrangements for transit traffic with
its neighbor Kosovo: a large majority of transit shipments need no longer to stop at the border
for customs inspections. Kosovo and Albania have also agreed on mutual recognition of import
and export certificates, but implementation of this agreement is still in progress. The country
also participates in a regional program called Systematic Electronic Exchange of Data (SEED)
that aims to improve performance of risk assessment systems through systematic regional
exchange of information and intelligence that help customs to identify and target cross-border
movements of highest risk.
There are a few challenges that Albania needs to overcome if the country wants to achieve
higher levels of Border Agency Cooperation and trade facilitation. The country lacks funds and
expertise to carry more advanced, resource-intensive BAC activities such as ICT development
and legislative reform. The financial and technical support of the European Union is helping,
but the progress of the international BAC initiatives could be accelerated with stronger foreign
support. There is also large potential to increase risk management cooperation at the CEFTA
level. However, connectivity problems undermine a fully functional regional approach to
customs risk management
Finally, the Table below summarizes the main cross-border BAC activities in Albania. The
country already has several BAC initiatives operational; a few projects are under way. Many of
the international BAC arrangements have a regional scope within the CEFTA agreement.
However, Albania has agreed on two important bilateral BAC activities with Kosovo: transit
arrangements and mutual recognition of import/ export certificates. Albania also collaborates
closely with the European Union on customs modernization matters.
18 accessed 8 August 2016).
189 NFA, expert interview, 2016