In the earlier period 30 municipalities/cities have produced and adopted strategic and action documents, formed councils on migration and durable solutions and provided earmarked funds within the budget designated for accommodating refugees and internally displaced persons, whereas 75 municipalities/cities have concluded their training on producing local action plans, whose adoption is expected take place as soon as possible. Due to the financial support of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the continuation of the training of 40 additional municipalities and cities is envisaged until the end of 2009.

During the course of 2009, around 1.000.000 Euros have been singled out in two sequences from the budget of the Republic of Serbia, intended for the support of local action plans of cities and municipalities in integrating refugees and internally displaced persons. The aforementioned resources have been used for the purchase of 260 packages of building materials for refugees and internally displaced persons who have commenced with the self-initiated building of housing objects, and it is planned to allocate another 500.000 Euros by the end of the year for the same purpose.

By recognising the importance of integrating refugees on a local community level, the UNHCR has allotted 700.000 USD which will be used by this project for housing care as well as for the economic strengthening of refugees. Following the launching of the open competition, 29 municipalities and cities in the Republic of Serbia have applied for the same. The Commission, composed of representatives of the UNHCR and the Commissariat for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia, has selected the following 12 municipalities and cities, which will be supported by the Project, based on the best assessment results of their respective projects: Alibunar, Zaječar, Kragujevac, Kruševac, Kula, Medvedja, Nova Crnja, Novi Beograd, Pančevo, Pećinci, Ruma and Smederevo. With the allocated resources the following components of the housing care programmes and the economic strengthening of refugees will be provided: the purchase of 37 rural houses with crofts, the procurement of 59 packages of building materials, 17 acquisition activities and 34 professional requalifications and additional trainings. With the Project “Support for Local Action Plans in the Republic of Serbia”, more than 150 of the most vulnerable families, that is around 600 refugees, will be accommodated.

During the ceremony on the occasion of signing agreements the Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Jovan Krkobabić has, on behalf of the government of the Republic of Serbia, extended his gratitude to the representatives of 12 municipalities in Serbia that have planned and undertaken a number of concrete activities in regards to accommodating refugees and internally displaced persons, by way of developing and adopting strategic and action documents, forming the council for migration and durable solutions and by setting up earmarked funds within the budget. Likewise, he has expressed his contentment about the exceptional progress of the project supporting the municipalities and cities in the Republic of Serbia in relations to the strengthening of local capacities for resolving the issues of refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as the significance of the partnership between the central and the local governments.

Dr. Krkobabić also pointed out that he supports the activities, which have been initiated by the municipalities/cities with the support of the Commissariat for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia, the High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations (UNHCR), the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Delegation of the European Commission in the Republic of Serbia and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). The Deputy Prime Minister has emphasised that he expects also in the forthcoming period that the municipalities and cities continue to successfully implement the activities for the improvement of living conditions in the community, for which according to his statement, “they can count on the support and cooperation of the competent organs, bodies and institutions of the Government of the Republic of Serbia”.

During the course of the ceremony on the occasion of signing agreements the following participants have taken the floor: the Commissar for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia, Vladimir Cucić; the Representative of the High Commissar for Refugees Eduardo Arbodela; the Representative of the Delegation of the European Commission in the Republic of Serbia, Marzia Palotta; Gregoire Goodstein, Chief of the International Organisation for Migration Mission; Ružica Banda, the Representative of the OCSE Mission in the Republic of Serbia; the Mayor of Pančevo Vesna Martinović; the Mayor of the Novi Beograd Municipality, Nenad Milenković and the Mayor of Kruševac, Desimir Pavlović.