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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Keys to 250 apartments for refugees in Ovca settlement handed over

Belgrade, 23 August 2023

President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic said today, at the ceremony of handing over the keys to 250 newly built apartments for refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, that the housing issue for the remaining 8,860 families from Bosnia and Herzegovina who are still without a roof over their heads should be resolved by 2028.

In the Ovca settlement, Vucic appealed to the government of Serbia, the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration, as well as the City of Belgrade to do everything in order to solve the housing issue for all the remaining refugees, pointing out that approximately €200 million will be invested in the construction of those apartments.

He expressed his gratitude to Head of the Delegation of European Union to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret for the allocated money within the Regional Housing Programme, thanks to which 250 refugee families are getting their homes today, stressing that the EU bore by far the largest part of the costs of building those apartments.

You have done a lot for this settlement and I thank you endlessly for that, the President told Giaufret and stated that the area of the building is 23,000 square metres, and the total value of the works was €12,143,601.22.

The Head of the EU Delegation expressed his satisfaction that 250 families received the keys to apartments intended for displaced persons and refugees within the Regional Housing Programme, which proves that when we cooperate, we are better together.

He emphasised that the Union countries are proud to be a partner and the largest donor of this programme, as they cover 80% of its budget.

Serbia has made good progress in implementing the program, Giaufret added and underlined that by the time it ends, 7,442 families will get a new home.

He reminded that all buildings are energy efficient, apartments use geothermal pumps for central heating, and many of them are adapted for people with disabilities.

The Regional Housing Programme is a joint multi-year program of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia, which aims to provide permanent housing solutions for the most vulnerable refugee families in the region.

It is implemented with the support of the OSCE and the UNHCR, and is financed by the European Union, which is the largest donor, the United States of America, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.