New Bill to Grant Land Ownership Rights to Foreign Investors

TIRANA, September 19

A new draft-law on investments that aims at providing equal treatment to foreign investors is under preparation by the Finance and Economy (MFE). According to the new bill, foreign investors will obtain land ownership rights, Monitor Magazine reports.
The new draft law is drafted due to the fact that the current legislation provides additional protection to foreign investors, but not to the Albanian investors.
Hence, following extended researches on the investments legal frame conducted by the Investments Council, MFE started the work for the preparation of the bill that unifies investments and provides the same protection to Albanian and foreign investors.
Moreover, the draft-law will treat strategic investments as a different section based on the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination for Albanian and foreign investors.

In the meantime, land ownership rights will be an important section of the bill. The existing law on investments that dates back to 1993 defines that foreign investors are not granted ownership rights in the Republic of Albania. The new legal frame, which aims at providing equal rights, will make possible that foreign investors obtain land ownership rights. This is also an obligation that Albania needs to meet in the frame of the European Union (EU) integration as it has to provide the conditions for the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital.
The lack of ownership rights is often referred to international reports as one of the obstacles to foreign investments in the country.
Further on, the new law will define restrictions on specific sectors of the industry and conduct periodical review on restrictions to foreign ownership.
The new bill will provide a modern definition of the term investment. The draft law is expected to enter into force in 2019.

News Source: Monitor

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