Relationship dossier
Albania
Greece
Relationship assessment
Substantial cooperation alongside persistent disputes over maritime boundaries and minority issues
Albania toward Greece
+30Albania concluded a friendship and cooperation treaty with Greece in 1996 and has pursued bilateral cooperation. The two governments’ 2009 maritime delimitation agreement was later invalidated by Albania’s Constitutional Court, leaving the boundary issue unresolved. Albania’s handling of Fredi Beleri’s imprisonment in 2024 also drew strong Greek objections.
Greece toward Albania
+35Greece has supported Albania’s European Union accession process and concluded a friendship and cooperation treaty with Albania in 1996. Greek concerns over the rights of the Greek minority in Albania, including the 2024 imprisonment of mayor-elect Fredi Beleri, have periodically strained relations.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship combines sustained diplomatic and European-integration cooperation with recurring disputes over maritime boundaries and minority issues. The 1996 friendship treaty and Greek support for Albania’s EU accession provide a cooperative foundation, while the unresolved maritime question and the 2024 Beleri dispute remain sources of friction.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Albania and Greece maintain substantial cooperation, including a 1996 friendship and cooperation treaty and Greece’s support for Albania’s European Union accession. Relations have also faced recurring disputes over maritime delimitation, minority rights and the Cham issue. The 2024 dispute over the imprisonment of ethnic Greek mayor-elect Fredi Beleri added strain.
Areas of tension
- Unresolved maritime delimitation following Albania’s Constitutional Court invalidation of the 2009 agreement
- Greek concerns about the rights and treatment of the Greek minority in Albania
- The Cham issue and related claims
- Greek objections to Albania’s imprisonment of Fredi Beleri in 2024
Key developments
Albania and Greece concluded a friendship and cooperation treaty.
The governments signed a maritime delimitation agreement, which Albania’s Constitutional Court later invalidated.
The imprisonment of mayor-elect Fredi Beleri prompted Greek objections and strained bilateral relations.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral cooperation under the 1996 treaty are unclear.
- The timing and prospects for resolving maritime delimitation and minority-related disputes remain uncertain.