The Advisory Panel of the EU Floods Recovery Programme held its second meeting today in Sarajevo to discuss the progress of the floods recovery efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina, exchange information on the results archived so far and discuss future priorities. Special emphasis was placed on the rehabilitation of housing units, updating damage assessments, strengthening flood protection and sustaining the effective coordination of efforts.
As of February 4, 2015, the EU Floods Recovery Programme has produced the following key results across the flood-affected areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina:
*1,170 homes have been rehabilitated, and works on additional 171 homes are currently ongoing.
*78 public buildings have been rehabilitated, and works on 26 public buildings are currently ongoing.
*37 communal infrastructure objects have been rehabilitated, and works on 42 objects currently are ongoing.
*Grant payments to all selected 56 SMEs (for a total of EUR 1.47m) have been finalised, contributing to retention and generation of more than 1,800 jobs.
After the meeting, Massimo Mina, Head of Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society and Cross-Border Co-operation at the EU Delegation to BiH, said: “The European Union considers coordination and collaboration with the relevant domestic authorities to be of crucial importance in steering and targeting the EU’s floods recovery efforts. Today’s Advisory Panel meeting allowed us assess the progress and results achieved so far together with the authorities, and discuss ways to deepen our cooperation even further. We are pleased that there are plenty of visible and tangible results on the ground, but it is clear that further sustained efforts are needed in key areas such as housing rehabilitation and livelihoods recovery to help those who need it most. Also future close cooperation in the area of flood resilience is pertinent to keep communities safe from future floods, particularly in the context of the EU’s upcoming financing worth of 25 million EUR in this area in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”
The Advisory Panel is a key component of the governance structure of the EU Floods Recovery Programme. It is composed of key domestic institutions responsible for floods recovery efforts at the State, Entity and Brčko District BiH levels and representatives of the EU Delegation to BiH as the donor, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the Programme implementing partner.
The Advisory Panel was established in October 2014 to ensure maximum synergies between the flood recovery activities of the European Union and the domestic authorities on all levels, and it also serves as an information exchange forum on ongoing and planned flood recovery activities.
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