The existence of informal economy and informal employment has been identified by the European Commission and other international and local agencies (OECD, ILO etc.) as a major barrier to enabling economic prosperity in Albania. ESAP-RCC has recently produced a diagnostic report for Albania that looks at drivers of undeclared work, the institutional framework and current policy approaches.

A national workshop, held on 21 December 2018 in Tirana, provided policy-makers, employer and employees’ organizations, economic experts, researchers and other actors with an opportunity to learn more about the results of an expert analysis of the informal economy and employment in Albania and recommendations for tackling informality from a holistic perspective. It also encouraged an open discussion among relevant actors in Albania on the nature of informal employment, barriers to formalization, as well as measures and results of the Albanian government’s efforts in tackling informal employment.