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UKRAINE'S ACCESSION TO THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE'S DEVELOPMENT BANK IS AN IMPORTANT STEP TO PROVIDE IDP HOUSING

On April 13, the first meeting of the interagency working group on Ukraine's membership in the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). The event was opened by the Minister of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine, the head of the working group Oleksiy Chernyshov and the head of the Council of Europe Development Bank Carlo Monticelli. The meeting was attended by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe Borys Tarasyuk, and representatives of several ministries and departments, and specialists of the CEB.

Welcoming the group members, Oleksiy Chernyshov stressed: “According to the International Organization for Migration and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, there are about 7 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine, and 4.2 million refugees have left our country. Many of them have nowhere to go: their homes are destroyed or damaged. Our task is to bring Ukrainians home and provide them with housing. I am grateful to you for launching cooperation at a difficult time for Ukraine, which will help strengthen international support for the post-war reconstruction of our country and provide our citizens with housing. From our side, we are ready to make the necessary decisions to embark on the path to Ukraine's accession to the CEB without delay. "

Carlo Monticelli assured the Bank's solidarity and the whole world community with the Ukrainian people in the fight against the aggressor and stated the readiness of the CEB to develop effective housing programs for our citizens jointly.

The next steps for Ukraine's accession to the CEB were discussed, and specific tasks and deadlines for their implementation were determined.

The interdepartmental working group on Ukraine's membership in the Council of Europe Development Bank was established on 13 March 2022 at the initiative of the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine. The group's task is to organize official negotiations with the bank on the terms of Ukraine's accession to the BCE.

In the Resolution 2198 (2018), "The Humanitarian Consequences of the War in Ukraine", the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) appealed to the Council of Europe Development Bank to create affordable credit programs to support housing projects for vulnerable groups in Ukraine, including internally displaced persons. At the same time, the PACE called on the Government of Ukraine to consider joining the Council of Europe Development Bank.

In a comment to the press service of the State Fund for Support of Youth Housing Construction, the secretary of the interdepartmental group and the chairman of the board of the State Fund, Serhii Komnatnyi pointed out:

- Since 2018, the State Fund has been defending the feasibility of Ukraine's accession to the Council of Europe Development Bank. We hope that now this critical step will finally be taken, which numbers will help get a roof over the heads of the forcibly displaced persons, which have significantly increased as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

Certificate.

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) is an exclusively socially-oriented banking institution, a key instrument for implementing a policy of social solidarity and cohesion in Europe. The BCE differs from other banks in the non-profit nature of its activities, which allows it to provide loans to member states on much more favorable market terms. In addition, the BCE has expert potential in housing, civil infrastructure, education, and healthcare. This opens the possibility of creating projects that best meet the needs of the beneficiary countries.

The BCE was founded in 1956 by the eight member states of the Council of Europe to address Europe's refugee problems after World War II. The main goal of the Bank's housing projects is to facilitate access to decent and affordable housing for the poor and middle-class people by providing loans or reducing the housing deficit (building new housing or renovating the existing housing fund).

Since 1956, the total amount of the bank's approved projects in the housing sector has exceeded 11 billion euros. The BCE is currently implementing 13 existing projects in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, and Macedonia.

Today, the BCE members are 40 of the Council of Europe member states, including the Vatican and Kosovo. The bank's main activities are aimed at 22 countries in Central, Eastern, and South-Eastern Europe. States can be both donors and borrowers. As a member of the Council of Europe, Ukraine has the right to join the BCE.

Ukraine's accession to the BCE will help participate in international investment projects, attract foreign investment to provide housing for Ukrainians affected by the war, develop new housing programs, and promote the modernization of state housing policy in our country.