Keepin touch

Whether you have a question, comment, suggestion or any problem in the purview of the government, send us your message and we will try to respond as soon as possible. If your problem is not in our purview, we will forward your message to the relevant institution.

The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

€1.3m for refugees, IDPs

Belgrade, 8 June 2010

Deputy Prime Minister Jovan Krkobabic stressed today that the government is committed to investing maximum effort with the help of the international community to resolve the issue of refugees and IDPs in a dignified manner.

At the Palace of Serbia, presenting notifications on financial assistance to representatives from 60 municipalities and towns, Krkobabic specified that the assistance totals €1.3 million and will be used to purchase 310 packages of construction material to solve the housing issues of refugees and IDPs.

He affirmed that 165 grants have been allocated for improving the financial situation of these persons.

The Serbian government and President Boris Tadic are investing maximum effort to meet the conditions for EU entry and one of the issues that must be solved on this path is the position of refugees and IDPs, Krkobabic underlined.

Serbian Commissioner for Refugees Vladimir Cucic voiced the hope that the problem of refugees and internally displaced persons in some 50 Serbian municipalities will be resolved by the end of this year.

As many as 126 municipalities have completed the training for the preparation of local action plans as part of a project that was launched in 2007, while 84 municipalities have adopted action plans, he declared.

Representative of the EU delegation in Serbia Thomas Gnocchi pointed out that the role of municipalities in this process is of key importance because they are in direct contact with refugees and displaced persons and know their needs best.

It is also important that there is good cooperation with state authorities, for which Deputy Prime Minister Krkobabic deserves big merit, Gnocchi said and added that the EU will continue helping Serbia to solve this matter.

Representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Serbia Eduardo Arboleda highlighted that today’s event shows solidarity and cooperation between the UNHCR and the Commissariat for Refugees in resolving the issues of importance for refugees and IDPs.