Director General of the Public Procurement Agency Reida Kashta Says Albania Advances in Chapter 5 on Public Procurement with WTO Global Agreement in Focus

Prime Minister Edi Rama, the Director General of the Public Procurement Agency, and Reida Kashta, Albania’s negotiator for Chapter 5, “Public Procurement,” held a press conference on the progress of public procurement reform and Albania’s advancement in negotiations within the framework of the European integration process.
During the conference, Kashta emphasized that Chapter 5, “Public Procurement,” is one of the most important chapters in negotiations with the European Union. It is also part of the “Fundamentals” cluster under the EU’s new enlargement methodology.
She stated that Albania is conducting negotiations in two main areas: the negotiation process for Chapter 5 and accession to the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA 2012) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a process being carried out in coordination with the European Union.
Kashta announced that the EU has deemed Albania’s public procurement system ready for this international agreement. She stressed that this is an important indicator of Albania’s system’s maturity in line with European and international standards.
Kashta emphasized that the closing benchmarks for Chapter 5 are based on three pillars: full alignment of the legal framework with EU legislation, strengthening administrative and institutional capacities at all levels, and ensuring sustainable results through transparent, competitive public procurement.
Kashta stated that Albania is finalizing legal amendments to fully align national legislation with EU legislation. Additionally, documentation concerning institutional capacities and performance data for the 2022–2025 period has been prepared.
The conference highlighted that public procurement reform has strengthened transparency, competition, and anti-corruption mechanisms, ensuring the efficient use of public funds.
Several international assessments of Albania’s public procurement system were mentioned in this context, including the SIGMA report (OECD-EU) and the PEFA report (World Bank), as well as evaluations by the OpenTender.EU portal regarding the integrity and transparency of public procurement processes.