Governor Wenzel takes part in the International donors' conference for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia after the floods

16 July 2014

BRUSSELS - On 16 July, the European Commission hosted a conference in Brussels gathering international donors to support the recovery from devastating floods that had hit Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia in May this year.

Co-organized with France and Slovenia, the conference was opened by Commissioners Stefan Füle and Kristalina Georgieva, the Prime Minister of Slovenia Alenka Bratušek and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurent Fabius. It was attended by more than 300 ministers, ambassadors and representatives of international organizations and multilateral financial institutions.

In his statement, the Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), Rolf Wenzel, highlighted the CEB’s prompt response to the crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia through reallocation of funds and the restructuring of existing projects in these two countries.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, restructured projects are worth a total of € 69.2 million, with the focus on the rehabilitation of damaged infrastructure in housing and health. Concerning Serbia, restructured projects are worth € 32.5 million, focusing on repairing the damage to houses, rebuilding roads and assisting vulnerable groups impacted by the floods.

The Governor also drew attention to the CEB’s additional donation of € 100,000 to Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose purpose is to help the country deal with landmines and other unexploded devices that had been displaced by the floods and now pose a threat to human lives.

The donor conference mobilised pledges of more than € 1.8 billion, of which € 809 million for Bosnia and Herzegovina and € 995 million for Serbia, with another € 41 million for cross-border activities.

The financial aid will be used for rebuilding houses and public buildings, the rapid restoration of water and energy supplies and urgent assistance for those still without proper shelter. In addition, the money will be used for flood management, disaster protection and rebuilding transport and energy infrastructure.

A follow-up conference is envisaged for January 2015.

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.