Belgrade, 25 October 2013, the Government of the Republic of Serbia - Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Policy Dr. Jovan Krkobabić, and the Vice Governor of the Development Bank of the Council of Europe Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, signed a Framework Agreement between the Republic of Serbia and the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) on the implementation of the Regional Housing Program for a permanent solution to the housing needs of refugees. Serbia is the first country participating in the program in which the framework agreement will be put into force.

- We are witnessing one of the most important moments in the process of regional cooperation, which, after the donor conference in Sarajevo, makes a huge milestone in the completion of the refugee crisis in the Western Balkans. This agreement will allow immediate implementation of the Regional Housing Program and shelter for 17,000 of the most vulnerable refugee families. I am proud of the fact that we are finally able to see the concrete results of the process of cooperation between the countries of the region, in which I have participated from 2008. - said during the signing ceremony Deputy Prime Minister Jovan Krkobabić.

He thanked the present representatives of the international community and numerous bilateral donors who, in difficult times, managed to secure funding and stressed the importance of the support of the European Union, the United States, UNHCR and the OSCE in the process of re-establishing cooperation between the countries of the region, which, among other things, resulted in the Regional Housing Program.

 

 

Mikolaj Dowgielewicz, Vice Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank, which manages the fund for housing and support to partner countries in the implementation of the Regional Housing Project, congratulated the Republic of Serbia, which is the first of the four partner countries who signed the Framework Agreement.

-Selection of the beneficiaries for the first Serbian project approved by the Assembly of RHP donors is under way, which implies that we will see the first results on the ground in the spring 2014. Thanks to donors who contributed funds to RHP - EU, U.S, Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Luxembourg and Turkey, has already been provided 260 million EUR. Assembly of the RHP donors has already approved this year two requests of Serbia for grants payment, and the third request was submitted and approval is expected by the end of the year. If approved, the total amount of the approved grant to Serbia for 2013. will amount to 24 million EUR - said Dowgielewicz.

The signing ceremony was attended by representatives of donors and partner organizations - the European Union Delegation in the Republic of Serbia, U.S. Embassy, UNHCR, OSCE, Commissariat for Refugees and Migration and representatives of the Serbian authorities.