• In 2025, UOKiK implemented a year-long expert cooperation project under the TAIEX programme, addressed to the competition authorities of Albania and Montenegro.
• The activities included workshops held in Podgorica and Tirana, as well as a study visit to Warsaw.
• The support mainly concerned the enforcement and promotion of competition law in the context of the EU accession negotiations.

TAIEX is a European Union cooperation programme aimed at sharing knowledge and best practices with representatives of public administrations in countries neighbouring the EU. The Western Balkans remain one of the priority regions of the EU enlargement policy, with Albania and Montenegro playing an important role in this process, having conducted formal accession negotiations since 2022.

The 2025 project was addressed to two institutions: the Albanian Competition Authority (ACA) and the Montenegrin Agency for the Protection of Competition (AZZK). Its objective was to support the partners in the enforcement and promotion of competition law in the context of the ongoing EU accession process. UOKiK had already cooperated with ACA in the implementation of a year-long TAIEX project in 2024. In 2025, Montenegro joined the cooperation as a country that remains a frontrunner in the EU enlargement process and has declared its intention to conclude accession negotiations by 2026.

Project activities comprised three events: expert workshops organised by UOKiK in Podgorica (20–21 October 2025) and Tirana (3–4 November 2025), as well as a study visit of ACA and AZZK representatives to Warsaw (10–12 December 2025). In addition to UOKiK experts, the project also involved experts from the Lithuanian competition authority and the District Court in Warsaw.

The workshops were addressed to representatives of ACA, AZZK and cooperating public administration institutions. They focused on practical aspects of conducting antitrust proceedings, as well as cooperation between competition authorities, courts and sectoral regulators. Issues related to contractual advantage, state aid and international mergers were also discussed.

The final component of the project was a study visit of ACA and AZZK management and experts to the UOKiK headquarters in Warsaw. The meeting provided an opportunity for in-depth discussions on EU integration, current challenges for competition enforcement in digital markets, the use of inspections to effectively gather evidence of infringements, state aid, merger control and communication activities.

UOKiK plans to continue its cooperation with partners from Albania and Montenegro by supporting their further activities in the field of competition protection within the EU accession process.