Albania aims to finalize pension recognition deal with Greece by 2030

Albania is working toward securing a long-awaited bilateral agreement with Greece for the mutual recognition of pensions—a deal that could benefit hundreds of thousands of Albanian emigrants. According to a report by A2 CNN, the government plans to reach such agreements with several countries by 2030, with particular focus on Greece, which hosts the largest Albanian diaspora.

Why is this important: For many Albanians who have lived and worked across borders, the lack of pension agreements has meant lost years of contributions and limited access to income in old age. A pension recognition agreement would allow them to combine contribution periods from both countries and receive benefits from each system proportionally.

Context: So far, Albania has finalized similar agreements with several countries, most recently with Italy. Greece, however, remains the most important partner due to the sheer number of Albanian emigrants—estimated at over 670,000.

Despite a breakthrough in 2022, when Greece agreed for the first time to open talks on this issue, progress has been slow. Two technical meetings have taken place in Athens and Tirana, but a formal agreement remains pending. Etmond Guri, an Albanian journalist based in Greece, told A2 CNN the delay is “a matter of political and financial will,” adding that recognizing these pensions could come with a significant fiscal cost for Greece.

What’s next: Experts believe that five years is a realistic timeframe to iron out technical disagreements and finalize such a deal. Negotiations are expected to continue at the technical level, with work being done to verify employment history across both systems and define the legal mechanisms needed for implementation. If successful, Albanian workers who have contributed to both systems would gain the right to draw from both—bringing long-awaited justice to a generation of emigrants.