The Albanian Minister of Finance and Economy, Ervin Mete, and the Croatian Minister of Labour, Pensions, Family and Social Policy, Marin Piletić, signed today in Zagreb the Agreement on Social Security.

This agreement provides the citizens of both countries with mutual recognition of social security contributions for the benefit of pensions.
The formalisation of the agreement between Albania and Croatia will enable the coordination of social security systems in accordance with the standards of European legislation, including unemployment benefits, maternity benefits and cash benefits in the event of accidents at work, among others.
More than 3,000 Albanian citizens living and working in Croatia are expected to benefit from this agreement.

Thanks to the social protection agreement, which will be implemented after ratification by the parliaments of both countries, citizens will not lose their paid contributions regardless of where they have worked. It is based on a number of fundamental principles, such as equal treatment, preservation of acquired rights, consolidation of insurance periods and provision of benefits both inside and outside the country of origin.

Croatia thus joins a number of other countries with which Albania has already concluded social protection agreements that ensure mutual recognition of contributions and facilitate the movement of citizens in terms of the labour market, in the region and beyond.

The day before, on October 1st, the agreement with Switzerland entered into force, while Albania is implementing social security agreements with Turkey, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Canada, Germany, North Macedonia, Luxembourg, Kosovo, Austria and Belgium. Agreements with Romania, Bulgaria and Montenegro are in the process of ratification by foreign parties.