News
Holy See lends its support to Migrant and Refugee Fund
19 November 2015
PARIS - The Holy See is contributing € 50 000 to the Migrant and Refugee Fund (MRF), a new instrument established by the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) to support member countries in coping with the influx of migrants and refugees.
The CEB endowed the MRF with € 5 million and invited donors to contribute funds with a view to reaching an amount in the region of € 20 - 25 million.
Priority is given to the financing of reception and transit centres in countries receiving migrants and refugees. So far MRF funds have been used to finance projects in Serbia, “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and Slovenia.
The Holy See joins Cyprus, Germany, Slovak Republic, the EIB, Luxembourg, Lithuania, and San Marino in donating funds to the MRF.
CEB Governor Rolf Wenzel welcomed the Holy See’s contribution and expressed his expectation that other CEB member states would follow suit.
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.
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