Governor Wenzel in Strasbourg for exchange of views with Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons

12 October 2016

PARIS – The Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB), Rolf Wenzel, participated in an exchange of views with the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The meeting, which was held at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on 11 October, was chaired by Sahiba Gafarova.

Governor Wenzel took part in the session “Possible ways to improve the emergency refugee situations funding”. Following an introductory address by the Rapporteur, Cezar Florin Preda, the Governor outlined the steps that the CEB had been taking to address the migrant and refugee crisis.

“The CEB’s approach is a comprehensive one, and as such it is entirely consistent with the principles of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework recently adopted by the United Nations General Assembly,” said Governor Wenzel. “In addition to helping our member countries deal with the emergency situation at hand, we continue to strengthen the social integration of migrants and refugees in the long run”, he added.

To help alleviate pressure on the countries receiving migrants, the CEB established in October 2015 the Migrant and Refugee Fund (MRF). The Fund has received contributions totalling close to € 19 million from 18 donors and has so far approved grants for 15 refugee projects, mainly in the Balkan region. “In his address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, France’s President François Hollande acknowledged the important role of the CEB’s activity and in particular of the MRF. I warmly welcome his remarks and would like to call for further contributions to the Fund, as its resources have now been depleted”, said the Governor.

Responding to questions from Committee members, Mr Wenzel underlined the close cooperation between the European Commission, the Turkish authorities and the CEB, and underlined the Bank’s commitment to supporting the implementation of the agreement between the EU and Turkey.

“The CEB, with its comprehensive approach to the migrant and refugee crisis in Europe, is an example of how multilateral development banks can coordinate action, create synergies, and put in place an efficient mechanism to ensure the rapid mobilisation and channelling of resources in order to confront an emergency situation,” concluded Mr Wenzel.

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.