Mr. Raphaël Alomar, Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank, Ms. Margret Thalwitz, Special World Bank Group Representative for South East Europe, and Mr. Shigeo Katsu, the World Bank’s Vice-president designate for Europe and Central Asia open the Conference

Ministers in charge of housing and finance from South East Europe (SEE) and representatives from several international organizations met in Paris to discuss the reform process in the housing sector. The meeting was convened by the Council of Europe Development Bank and the World Bank, under the auspices of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe. 

The conference was opened by Raphaël Alomar, Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank, and by Shigeo Katsu, the World Bank’s Vice-president designate for Europe and Central Asia.

The housing sector in SEE is vital for growth, job creation and coherent social and economic development. It poses, however, several policy challenges which were discussed at the conference, inter alia:

• Poor housing maintenance and management

• Social and refugee related housing

• Economic and financial challenges

This conference initiated a process of policy dialogue among countries and stakeholders on the potentials of the housing sector for economic growth, social development and poverty reduction.

Implementing sound housing polices is a very complex task for any government. The conference should be seen as a starting point of a wider process of dialogue between the Countries of the Region and the International Community on housing issues. It served as a tool for regional ownership by providing a forum for senior officials to:

• Exchange their experiences on the housing sector;

• Establish the principles of a coherent housing strategy; and,

• Establish a framework for regional cooperation on housing.

Housing and urban matters represent an important area of lending, institutional strengthening and sector advice by the international financial institutions. Ministers took note of the willingness of the represented international institutions to continue deploying their support for the improvement of housing and urban conditions in SEE. Furthermore, they ask the Council of Europe Development Bank and the World Bank to maintain a dialogue on housing sector issues in the region.

Press Release: in English (pdf, 178 KB) and in French (pdf, 182 KB)

Ministers discuss housing reform in South East Europe

Statements:

Opening remarks by Mr. Raphaël Alomar, Governor of the Council of Europe Development Bank: in English (3 pages, pdf, 170 KB) and in French (3 pages, pdf, 163 KB)

Opening statement by Mr. Shigeo Katsu, Director, Regional Operations, Europe and Central Asia region, The World Bank (9 pages, pdf, 137 KB)

Statement by Mr. John Riddle, Deputy Coordinator of the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe (11 pages, pdf, 165 KB)

Presentations from the Meeting:

Mr. Rainer Steckhan, Council of Europe Development Bank (MS PowerPoint, 7.1 MB)

Mr. Robert Buckley and Ms. Kate Owens, The World Bank (MS PowerPoint, 263 KB)

Mr. József Hegedüs and Ms. Nóra Teller, Metropolitan Research Institute (MS PowerPoint, 8.9 MB)

Dr. Iskra Dandalova, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (MS PowerPoint, 57 KB)

Emiel A. Wegelin, International Advisory Services for Urban Action (MS PowerPoint, 181 KB)

Ms. Ileana Tureanu, Secretary of State, Romanian Government (MS PowerPoint, 35.7 MB)

Mr. Radimir Cacic, Minister of Public Works, Reconstruction and Construction, Republic of Croatia (MS PowerPoint, 325 KB)

Mr. Erik Beijer, DIGH and Mr. Hein Gietema, ECORYS (MS PowerPoint, 187 KB)

Ms. Judith Hardt, European Mortgage Federation (MS PowerPoint, 183 KB)

Critical issues and sector policy challenges introduced by Mr. Robert Buckley from the World Bank

Conference Documents:

1) Draft Agenda (pdf, 200 KB)

2) Scope and Purpose of the conference (pdf, 141 KB)

3) Policy Issues on Social Housing in South-Eastern Europe (pdf, 230 KB Executive Summary) - by Dr. Iskra Dandolova

4) Refugee-related housing issues in selected South-Eastern European Countries (pdf, 218 KB Executive Summary) - by Mr. Emiel A. Wegelin

5) Management of the Housing Stock in South-Eastern Europe (pdf, 240 KB Executive Summary) - by József Hegedüs & Nóra Teller

Background Documents

1) Cities without land markets: lessons of the failed socialist experiment, World Bank, March 1994 (Alain Bertaud) (pdf, 3.5 MB)

2) Latvia - Housing Project, World Bank Project Appraisal Document, April 2002 (pdf, 2.4 MB)

¹ This Conference is a meeting of representatives from countries of the South East Europe region and international organizations. While it is not open to the public, information about the meeting will be made available on this website.