Response of Secretariat of Investment Council to Support Businesses during COVID-19 Emergency Situation

TIRANA, 9 April 2020 – In light of the epidemic situation caused by COVID-19, a number of escalating measures have been taken by the Government of Albania since 9 March 2020.  The COVID-19 emergency situation has impacted operations of both public institutions and private sector companies, creating an extraordinary situation as relates to the economic activity within the country.  In response to the above situation, the Government launched a financial plan and approved during this phase measures which mostly intend to smooth the negative impact of the situation on small businesses.

All the above measures are taken in the frame of a very dynamic approval of laws and by-laws by the Government and other regulatory bodies.  To assist the business community in the country, including their staff, as well as IC partners, the Secretariat has started to prepare and publish weekly updates and integrated summaries of key acts and applicable measures. These documents include both restrictive measures and those in the frame of the financial package approved by the Government from time to time. Last update: 6 April 2020. For more, visit our dedicated section on COVID-19.

In addition, the Secretariat has recently designed and launched a survey on the ‘Impact Assessment of Consequences deriving from COVID-19 Pandemic on Business Activity in Albania,’ for the purpose of identifying issues and suggestions from the business perspective. The survey aims to collect aggregated data on how much the COVID-19 has impacted the business activity in Albania, as per specific sectors, companies’ turnover and the number of employees. The survey will attempt to give answers to questions like “How businesses are responding to this unprecedented situation and what challenges they are facing in terms of liquidity, lack of production, lack of customers, increase of costs, etc. What are their estimations on the COVID-19 impact on business turnover? How can the central and local government better assist their specific needs during this phase?”

Survey’s findings and suggestions will be shared with the Government to gain a better understanding of the support needed by the businesses and where to focus resources for a better response. This can bring potential legal and regulatory changes or revisions with impact to minimize the adverse effects.

Other useful publications of the Secretariat can be found in the following link:

• Survey’s Findings “On some aspects of the investment climate in Albania” (2019)
• Survey’s Findings “On the Interaction between the business with municipalities in Albania” (2019)
• Overview of Albania’s Economic Outlook Indicators (2019)
• Monitoring Report on the Implementation Status of IC Recommendations (2019)