Some 460 vulnerable families from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia will soon be able to improve their living conditions thanks to housing projects launched as part of the Western Balkans Regional Housing Program. The housing solutions available include construction of apartment buildings, pre-fabricated houses and provision of building materials for the renovation of existing houses.
In total, some 74,000 vulnerable persons will benefit from this regional initiative that was agreed last year at the International Donors’ Conference in Sarajevo. The program brings together the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia and international stakeholders, including the European Commission, Council of Europe Development Bank, UNHCR, OSCE and the United Sates.
“The Regional Housing Program is a good example how we can deal in a sustainable way with difficult issues related to refugees and displacement. I am very pleased the construction and rehabilitation of the first houses will now start and that the first families will soon be able to move into their new and better homes”, said European Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy Štefan Füle.
Rolf Wenzel, Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank, which is managing the Regional Housing Program, said: “We know that our every-day work has a lot of importance for thousands of people. Getting close to the first results of the Regional Housing Program, we are continuing in even greater strides to help the countries secure decent housing conditions for those populations most in need.”
Anne C. Richard, Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration said, “We are very pleased to support the Regional Housing Program. It is helping to bring a painful chapter of history to a close by resolving long-standing refugee and displacement issues in Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. This program is a landmark achievement for diplomacy and brings hope for a better future to many in the region.”
