The Deputy Minister of Economy, Culture and Innovation, Olta Manjani said on Friday that the Foreign Policy committees in the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies in Italy approved the amendment for the allocation of funds within the framework of the ratification and implementation of the Agreement between the Italian Republic and of the Republic of Albania for Social Security, which was signed in Rome on February 6, 2024 and is expected to be approved by the Italian parliament.

A fund of Euro 12 million was approved for 2025; Euro 13.6 million for 2026; Euro 13.1 million for 2027; Euro 15.1 million for 2028; Euro 17 million for 2029; Euro 19.3 million for 2030; Euro 21.3 million for 2031; Euro 23.4 million per year for all subsequent years starting from 2032.

The draft law was approved by the Parliament of Albania on May 16. The scope of this agreement includes benefits from the compulsory social insurance scheme, including old-age, invalidity, and family pension insurance, as well as sickness and maternity insurance and unemployment insurance.

There are over 500 thousand Albanian citizens in Italy who are direct beneficiaries of this agreement and about 4 thousand Italian citizens in Albania.

Since 2005, Albania has signed a series of agreements in the field of social insurance, among which are with Turkey, Belgium, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Czech Republic, North Macedonia, Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Romania, Kosovo, with the Confederation of Switzerland and Croatia.

Agreements with Montenegro and Bulgaria are also expected to enter into force. While the agreements with Poland and Serbia are in process, countries such as Slovenia, Spain, Denmark, Moldova, and the United Arab Emirates have expressed their agreement for the start of negotiations. The government is in the advanced process of obtaining an agreement for the start of negotiations with France.