During the public hearing at the joint meeting of the Parliamentary Committees for Human Rights and for Civic Initiatives, on the Annual Activity Report for 2024, the Ombudsman recalled that the institution has prepared two reports on the living wage, the first in 2014 and the second as a follow-up, but the issue has not advanced with the establishment of an official mechanism.

“The entire reform in this regard needs a new impetus,” said Ms. Ballanca, emphasizing that this includes people with disabilities, those without income and vulnerable groups.

Albania remains the country with the lowest investment in the region for this category.

The government has indexed pensions slightly more than the declared inflation, while there is a slight improvement in 2024 for people at risk of poverty. However, we are still far from the Balkan average. The report compared countries in the region and emphasized that the subsistence minimum directly influences other decisions, such as determining food obligations for children — an extremely vulnerable group in need of state protection.