Yesterday in Pristina the Swiss Ambassador Jean-Hubert Lebet and the Kosovo Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Skender Reçica signed the Social Security Agreement between Switzerland and Kosovo.
This agreement brings the two signatory states closer to the purpose of establishing a new base for social security coordination. The agreement comes into force after the approval by the parliaments of both states.
The new agreement is in line with other social security agreements reached by Switzerland and is based on international standards for the coordination of social security systems. In particular, it coordinates the provision of pensions, inheritance pensions and disability pensions with the contracting states, which are in AHV and IV in Switzerland, in order to avoid possible disadvantages or discrimination of nationals of one or the other state . In this regard, the agreement guarantees equal treatment of the insured persons, and specifically allows the payment of pensions to a foreign state for the citizens of Kosovo. In addition, the agreement provides a provision of mutual support in the fight against social security abuses.The Social Insurance Agreement associated previously with Yugoslavia has not been implemented in Kosovo since April 1, 2010. Kosovo is the only unsuccessful state of Former Yugoslavia with which Switzerland has no contractual relationship in the field of social security. Therefore, citizens of Kosovo cannot receive pension insurance, pension of their heirs, and disability insurance in foreign countries. Instead of providing the pension or heirs' pension, the amount of the pension insurance can be reimbursed upon request. Since in the field of social security Kosovo has largely developed the legal framework since 2010 and has built the relevant infrastructure, in November 2016, the Federal Council has given to the Federal Department of Internal Affairs (EDI) a mandate to start negotiations for a new deal. Negotiations ended in the summer of 2017 and the Federal Council approved the deal on March 21, 2018 meeting.
The Federal Department of Internal Affairs (EDI) will now draft a parliamentary announcement. The new social security agreement comes into force only after it is approved by the parliaments of the two states, so according to the projections will take place in 2019. Retired citizens of Kosovo, who have not requested reimbursement of sums, can apply for payment of their pension to foreign countries once the agreement enters into force. However, retroactive claims can not be made for the time before the entry into force of the agreement.