Brussels, 07/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Sunday 6 November, the European Commission announced it would be actively involved in and support the funding for a joint regional programme worth €584 million between Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia in order to help refugees and displaced persons of the 1991-1995 conflicts on the territory of former Yugoslavia. The four Balkan states are to provide €84 million, while the EU is expected to provide almost half, about 45%, of the remaining €500 million, said Peter Stano, the spokesman for Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle, speaking on Monday 7 November. A donors' conference will thus be organised in spring 2012 in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, to seek international support for the funding of the regional programme. The United States, as well as EU member states, is expected to participate in the programme.
The joint declaration, covering the organisation of the conference, was signed during a ministerial meeting on durable solutions for refugees and displaced persons, in Belgrade (Serbia) on Monday 7 November, attended by Stefan Füle. The meeting is considered as the conclusion of the Sarajevo Declaration process, initiated in 2005. “By addressing the needs of the most vulnerable refugees and displaced persons, the four countries have made a major step forward towards lasting reconciliation”, the commissioner explained before attending the meeting, specifying that the “return of refugees has been one of the most sensitive and difficult issues which have had a direct impact on most people in the region”. “This process will not only change for the better the lives of thousands of refugees, it is also an example of what can be achieved when governments cooperate”, Füle added. (CG/transl.jl)