CEB Vice-Governor Dowgielewicz on official visit to Serbia, Montenegro

29 April 2015

Paris - CEB Vice-Governor for Target Group Countries Mikołaj Dowgielewicz visited Serbia and Montenegro, where he held meetings with high-level officials of both governments. Discussions focused on the implementation of the Regional Housing Programme (RHP), which is managed by the CEB, and cooperation with the Bank in general.

On 28 April, Vice-Governor Dowgielewicz met with the Serbian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić. Mr Dowgielewicz thanked the Serbian authorities for their cooperation and said that it was important to keep the general public’s attention to the refugee housing issues in the region. Mr Dačić said that Serbia attached great importance to the implementation of the RHP, which not only provided valuable assistance to vulnerable refugees but also facilitated the process of regional reconciliation.

In Montenegro, Vice-Governor Dowgielewicz met with the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Policy and Financial System Vujica Lazović, and with the Minister for Labour and Social Welfare Zorica Kovacević, who is heading the Montenegrin institution in charge of the RHP. At the meeting there was agreement that visible progress had been made and that all the preparatory work had been completed, paving the way for the delivery of an important number of housing solutions in the coming months.

Mr Dowgielewicz also held meetings with the Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Michael Davenport and with Montenegro’s Minister of Finance Radoje Zugić, with whom he discussed the RHP and the CEB’s activities in the two countries.

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.