At a campaign event in the city of Kuçova, the Prime Minister spoke to the difficulties Albanians abroad encounter in having their years of work recognized, citing the case of Albanians in Greece as an example.

The Prime Minister informed that the Albanian government has begun negotiations with the Greek government regarding the recognition of pensions, but noted that this is a long and difficult process.

Rama stated that Albania has begun complex negotiations with Greece on pension recognition, similar to the long process with Italy, noting the challenge lies in the large number of Albanians and Greece’s more limited financial capacity.
However, according to him, there is another path that could be much faster: for Albanians to obtain Albania’s European passport.

“The moment you hold that passport, which reads EU – Republic of Albania, every year of work in Europe is automatically recognized, and you can immediately begin the process of pension recognition. With Albania’s European passport, all the waiting lines for documents in Greece come to an end,” said Rama.

Reflecting on the progress of the EU accession process, the Prime Minister recalled that Montenegro began its negotiations in 2012, while Serbia started negotiations when Albania was not yet a candidate country. However, neither of these countries is currently a member of the EU.

“The answer is simple: that house opens its door not only when you’re ready or when you want it, but also when they are ready to welcome you. Today, we, who started from the bottom, have moved ahead of Serbia and now stand at the doorstep, side by side with Montenegro,” said Rama.

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