Serbia gets EUR 19.9mn for Bosnia and Croatia refugees

Serbia gets EUR 19.9mn for Bosnia and Croatia refugees

Dacic, who is also the chairman of the Commission for the Coordination of the Process of Permanent Integration of Refugees, explained that this is the eighth project that will finance the housing of 938 refugee families from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Serbian government reported.

The decision was made at the 14th Assembly of Donors of the Regional Housing Program, with the funds allocated for building 358 apartments, 30 prefabricated houses, 250 building materials packages and 300 village houses.

"This is great news that encourages us to continue with the implementation of this program and shows that donors continue to recognize the needs of refugees in Serbia," Dacic said.

Minister without Portfolio in charge of European Integration Jadranka Joksimovic emphasized that "a lot has been done through the Regional Housing Program, but that more can be done in cooperation with partners."

When it comes to the aforementioned EUR 19.9 million, she said that she will advocate that these funds are separated from the multi-beneficiary IPA, because EUR 10 million aimed at solving the migrant crisis has already been allocated.

Acting Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Oskar Benedikt "emphasized that the program represents the values of Europe, which are solidarity, cooperation and reconciliation," while US Ambassador to Serbia Kyle Scott announced that the United States will allocate additional funds to the Fund.

German Ambassador to Serbia Axel Dittmann, OSCE Ambassador to Serbia Andrea Orizio and UNHCR Representative Anne-Christine Eriksson also addressed the participants.

The Regional Housing Program in Serbia began to be implemented at the end of 2013. Refugee families were provided four types of housing solutions: flats, prefabricated houses, rural households and building material packages.