News

CEB holds Joint Meeting in Sarajevo

14 June 2014

SARAJEVO - The 49th Joint Meeting of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) was held on 14 June in Sarajevo at the invitation of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The meeting brought together the Bank’s Governing Board, Administrative Council and Management.  

Nikola Špirić, Minister of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina, delivered the opening address. The meeting also heard speeches by Snežana Samardžić-Marković, Director General of Democracy at the Council of Europe, Raphaël Alomar, Chairman of the Governing Board, Joseph Licari, Chairman of the Administrative Council, and Rolf Wenzel, Governor of the CEB. 

In his statement, Governor Wenzel briefed the members of the Governing Board and Administrative Council on recent developments relating to the Bank’s activity, and underlined the continuing financial strength of the CEB in a context of economic uncertainty and weak growth across Europe.  

The Joint Meeting was preceded on 13 June by the 288th Administrative Council meeting, held during the morning session, and the 208th Governing Board meeting in the afternoon.  

On this occasion, discussions were held on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Serbia following the recent devastating floods in the region. The Administrative Council approved a restructuring of CEB loans to these countries in order to help them cope with the impact of the floods.  

Regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Administrative Council additionally approved a donation of € 100,000 to the International Trust Fund Enhancing Human Security (ITF) in favour of its operating unit in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Specifically, ITF will use the donation for the resurveying and mapping of areas where landmines were displaced during the floods.  

On 12 June, Governor Wenzel had meetings with high officials of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including President Bakir Izetbegović, Prime Minister Vjekoslav Bevanda, Minister of Finance and Treasury Nikola Špirić, and Minister of Human Rights and Refugees Damir Ljubić.  

The 2015 Joint Meeting of the CEB will be held in Berlin at the invitation of the German Government.

Set up in 1956, the CEB (Council of Europe Development Bank) has 41 member states. Twenty-two Central, Eastern and South Eastern European countries, forming the Bank's target countries, are listed among the member states. As a major instrument of the policy of solidarity in Europe, the Bank finances social projects by making available resources raised in conditions reflecting the quality of its rating (Aa1 with Moody's, outlook stable, AA+ with Standard & Poor's, outlook stable and AA+ with Fitch Ratings, outlook stable). It thus grants loans to its member states, and to financial institutions and local authorities in its member states for the financing of projects in the social sector, in accordance with its Articles of Agreement.