THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE PROJECT – STATE FUND PARTNER IN DEVELOPING SUSTAINABLE HOUSING SOLUTIONS

Serhii Komnatnyi, Chairman of the Board of the State Fund, took part in a meeting of the Supervisory Board of the Council of Europe Project "Promoting the development of housing solutions for people affected by the war in Ukraine". The meeting was held on July 5, 2023.

In his speech, the head of the State Fund noted that the Council of Europe has always supported Ukraine, and the projects and programs implemented by the Council of Europe have a strong social focus aimed at helping and integrating IDPs and war-affected people in Ukraine. The "Promoting the development of housing solutions for people affected by the war in Ukraine" project will be a new and effective initiative.

"The housing problem of internally displaced persons in Ukraine is over nine years old. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine, this issue has become global. Millions of Ukrainian families are forced to leave their homes to save their lives. These people have to start their lives over and try to integrate into new communities. And housing is the basic need of every person on the way to such integration," said Mr. Komnatnyi.

According to Mr. Komnatnyi, the assistance of international partners in developing and implementing housing solutions for IDPs is especially necessary now.

Long before 2022, when our country learned the hard way what internal displacement is, the State Fund, together with the executive authorities, ensured that almost all housing programs in our country were amended to adapt them to the new realities and special conditions for participation in the programs were introduced for IDPs.

So far, the State Fund has provided housing for 1903 IDP families. At the same time, more than 41 thousand displaced persons are still registered as candidates for participation in the State Fund programs.

The State Fund is constantly looking for new ways, mechanisms and funding to solve the housing problem of IDPs. And it is imperative that, together with the authorities, we have completed the task of Ukraine's membership in the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB). "Membership in the CEB will allow us to take advantage of the bank's affordable loan programs and offer housing projects for vulnerable groups of the Ukrainian population, including IDPs," emphasized the Chairman of the State Fund.

The State Fund and the Council of Europe work to support Ukraine's sustainable development. The projects and programs implemented by the institution are solutions for sustainable development.

Olena Lytvynenko, Acting Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine, emphasized the effectiveness of cooperation between the Council of Europe and the Ukrainian authorities and noted that the Council of Europe has launched three new projects in the interests of Ukrainians, one of which is "Promoting the development of housing solutions for people affected by the war in Ukraine."

Nataliia Kozlovska, Deputy Minister of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, thanked the Council of Europe for supporting the efforts of the state authorities to overcome the consequences of the war by citizens and communities. She spoke about the laws already in place to compensate citizens for destroyed and damaged housing. Ms. Kozlovska also said that a draft law on the basic principles of housing policy is being developed, which will consider the European experience.

Within the framework of the Project, representatives of the Ukrainian authorities and European experts are already cooperating on the basic principles of realizing the right to housing and housing management issues, said Svitlana Startseva, Head of the Housing Policy and Welfare Department of the Ministry of Infrastructure.

"The Aid from European partners will contribute to strengthening the sustainability of Ukraine's recovery processes and help solve problems that have existed in our country for decades — these are the tasks we set ourselves at the start of the Project," summarized the discussion Anna Khristova, Project Manager of the Council of Europe.

Background:

The "Promoting the development of housing solutions for people affected by the war in Ukraine" project is being implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine for 2023-2026, "Resilience, Recovery and Rehabilitation".

The Project aims to provide technical and expert support in developing sustainable housing solutions for displaced persons and persons affected by the war in Ukraine.

The project "Promoting the development of housing solutions for people affected by the war in Ukraine" covers two key components:

- Improving the national and local legal framework for housing solutions and facilitating access to housing programs in line with European and international human rights standards;

- promoting the implementation of digital solutions to ensure the housing rights of people affected by the war in Ukraine.

Several ministries, including the Ministry of Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, the Ministry of Reintegration, and the State Fund and local authorities, are national partners of the Project.