Contracts for the purchase of 15 rural houses were handed over to refugee families from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia in Pančevo

Fifteen beneficiary families have been awarded contracts for the purchase of rural houses in Pančevo, as part of the Regional Housing Program. A new life is beginning for all of them today, because after more than two decades of living under someone else's roof, they will finally move into their homes.

The ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Pančevo, Aleksandar Stevanović, the representative of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia, Enrico Visentin, the representative of UNHCR, Ivala Jelić, the Head of the Office of the Director of the Public Sector Projects Implementation Unit, Jovan Lazarov, and the Commissioner for Refugees and Migration, Vladimir Cucić.

"After more than two decades of waiting, a new stage in the lives of 15 refugee families begins today, who will finally move into new homes and thus permanently solve their housing issue. Dear users, I wish you a happy move in and a joyful new beginning in your new homes," said Jovan Lazarov, Head of the Office of the Director of the Public Sector Projects Implementation Unit.

Funds for the purchase of the house are provided from the donor fund of the Regional Housing Program. The value of the donation for each house is 11,000 euros.

The Regional Housing Programme is a joint multi-year programme of the Republic of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and the Republic of Croatia, which aims to provide durable housing solutions for the most vulnerable refugee families in the region. It is implemented with the support of the OSCE, UNHCR and the Council of Europe Development Bank, and is financed by the European Union, which is also the largest donor, the United States, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Turkey, Luxembourg, Spain, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.