Grant agreements on resolving housing issue of refugees in Montenegro signed

Podgorica, Montenegro (7 October 2014) – Montenegro’s Labour Minister Predrag Bošković and the Council of Europe Development Bank’s official Stephen Sellen signed earlier today in Podgorica the two grant agreements for the commencement of another two housing projects within the Regional Housing Programme in the amount of EUR 9.9 million.

The two projects will provide housing to more than 120 refugee families in Podgorica and another 68 elderly people in the municipality of Pljevlja.

Montenegro’s government has made extensive efforts towards permanently resolving the issue of displaced persons who enjoy all the rights as other citizens of Montenegro except the right to vote, Minister Bošković told the press following the signing ceremony.

“The government is dealing with the housing issue of 6,063 people (1,177 households) that belong to the most vulnerable refugees. This way, we wish to permanently end the existence of collective centers.Therefore, we have applied for two more projects - the construction of 94 apartments in the municipality of Berane and 32 apartments in Herceg Novi,” he explained.

Stephen Sellen of the Coe Development Bank thanked Montenegro for the activities it has undertaken in order to address the housing needs of displaced persons. He especially thanked representatives of the municipalities in which the projects are to be implemented. He commended the motivation of Montenegro's institutions to implement the Regional Housing Program, which will enable the living conditions of the displaced persons to be improved, Mr Sellen noted.

Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Montenegro Mitja Drobnič also praised Montenegro's progress in addressing the refugee issue.