HIGH-LEVEL CONFERENCE ON HOUSING REFORMS IN SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE
Ministers in charge of housing and finance from South-eastern Europe met in Paris on 24 April 2003 at a High-level housing conference. The meeting was organised by the Council of Europe Development Bank and the World Bank under the auspices of the Stability Pact for South-eastern Europe. Some 15 ministers attended the conference as well as several international organisations.

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 South-eastern Europe (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:

Poor housing maintenance and management:
Over 90 % of the public housing stock in SEE was privatised, an extremely high share by international standards. Low incomes, however, limit the ability of households to properly maintain the property they own and to reap the economic benefits of ownership. As the region recovers, a major task is to put in place the legal, regulatory, organisational and financial incentives to enable owners to better maintain this valuable asset. This is a particular challenge for the management of the large portion of multifamily buildings.

Social and refugee related housing:
Housing is a private asset with a strong social component. A major challenge to policy makers in the region is the use of social housing as an instrument to support socially weaker and vulnerable groups in countries where poverty is widespread. Wars and civil disturbance that hit some of the countries in the past destroyed the houses of many people who became refugees and IDPs. Sustainable solutions to the refugee related housing is another challenge, calling for policy responses which require regional cooperation, in particular on property information exchange.

Economic and financial challenges:
Despite the progress so far achieved in building institutions for a market based housing sector, the constraints on affordability, on efficient supply of services, and on the adoption of financial instruments remain formidable. For this reason, housing in SEE does not yet notice its full potential to contribute to economic growth, employment, and income generation. The reform process must continue and establishment of clear property rights and access to finance are high priorities.

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 IFIs to continue deploying their support for the improvement of housing and urban conditions in SEE. Furthermore, they asked the Council of Europe Development Bank and the World Bank to maintain a dialogue on housing sector issues in the region. Ministers also agreed to share experiences at a regional level and make use of know-how available from other transition economies. Further meetings at expert and ministerial level are envisaged to review progress.

Housing Policy within the Stability Pact, Presentation by John Riddle, Deputy Coordinator of the SP