From the meeting with the elderly in Gjirokastra, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that the government does not yet know how long the negotiations for the recognition of pensions with Greece can last. Experts say that the talks could extend to over 5 years. Greece is the country with the highest number of Albanian immigrants, over 670 thousand, followed by Italy.
"The recognition of pensions with Greece and Italy is a large volume to recognize the pension of contributors there. Greece is not Italy in terms of possibilities. We have started negotiations and we do not know how long they can last with Greece."
Two to three years in the optimistic scenario and over five years if the process is delayed. That's how long it will take Albania and Greece to make it possible to recognize pensions for citizens of the two countries.
"Two years is enough for the claims of both parties and the points where there is no agreement to be adjusted. Then the prime ministers of the two countries or representatives with delegated powers will have a paved path to sign the agreement," Kujtim Hoxha, an expert on the pension system, told A2 CNN.
For the Albanian journalist in Greece, Etmond Guri, the most expected is the second scenario... the one of over 5 years of waiting.
"The "Beleri" issue, which has become a phenomenon, has soured relations between the two countries. Greece has for the first time received a rebuff from Albania and smoothing relations will take time," Etmond Guri told A2 CNN.
But almost 2 years after the Greek government agreed for the first time in over three decades to sit down for talks on recognizing Albanian pensions, followed by two meetings in Athens and Tirana, Prime Minister Rama is more optimistic.
"At a technical level, it means that the state administration with people who, by seniority, work here and there. These are all the technical details to pave the way towards reaching and implementing the agreement," declared Kujtim Hoxha.
Greece is the country with the highest number of Albanian immigrants, over 670 thousand, followed by Italy, North Macedonia, the United States of America or Germany. So why the over three decades of waiting for the recognition of pensions with Greece, the country with the largest Albanian diaspora?
"A matter of political will, but also economic will. There are many Albanians living and working in Greece and this costs the neighboring country a lot of money in the event of pensions being recognized," added journalist Guri.
In the event of an agreement being reached, Albanian immigrants living and working in the country would be able to combine their years of work in the two countries to benefit from two pensions. (A2 Televizion)
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