Keys to 20 newly-built Regional Housing Programme (RHP) apartments were delivered to refugee families in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia today, bringing the RHP another step closer to successful closure in June 2023. In addition to the beneficiaries themselves, the ceremony was attended by Nataša Stanisavljević, Commissioner for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia; Gerhard Salzer, Programme Manager at the European Union Delegation to Serbia; Boban Đurović, Mayor of Vrnjačka Banja; Stefanie Krause, UNHCR Deputy Representative in Serbia, and Dušan Kovačević, Head of the Public Sector Projects Implementation Unit Ltd., amongst others.

Wishing the beneficiaries happiness in their new homes, Commissioner Stanisavljević additionally confirmed the commitment of the Commissariat for Refugees and Migration of the Republic of Serbia (KIRS) to families in need following the end of the RHP implementation period in June 2023: “We will continue to work to provide decent and permanent housing for vulnerable families to enable them to have safer and better lives,” she said.

On behalf of the European Union, the largest Donor to the RHP, Gerhard Salzer also warmly congratulated the beneficiaries, and reflected on the importance of the Programme for the Western Balkans and the EU. “This Programme is an example of the solidarity of the people of the European Union with the people of Serbia and the Western Balkans,” he said. “We are very much looking forward to the successful completion of the RHP this year, when approximately 34 000 people will enjoy new homes.”