At the conference, Kalmeta will present figures on Croatia's progress in the return of refugees and displaced persons. To date 215,000 displaced Croats and 115,000 Serbs have returned to their prewar homes, the press release said, adding the Government hoped to close the return issue, one of its main priorities, by the end of 2006.
Considerable money and effort have been invested in recent years in accelerating the economic revival of return areas and areas of special state interest. To date more than 131,000 houses and flats have been reconstructed to the amount of 14.9 billion kuna, provided mostly from the national budget, as well as 209 schools to the amount of 800 million kuna.
Considerable progress has been made over the last year in property restitution, housing and reconstruction. To date 94 percent of previously occupied property has been returned to original owners and there are 1,151 houses yet to be returned.
There are 13,700 reconstruction applications yet to be processed, most of which by the end of this year, when 8,200 houses and flats will have been reconstructed. The reconstruction of houses demolished in the 1990s war is expected to be completed by the end of 2006.
The majority of this and next year's efforts will be invested in the provision of housing for former tenancy rights holders, whose deadline for applying for housing outside areas of special state interest was extended last December for another six months. There is no deadline for areas of special state interest.
Croatia has offered to provide housing to all returnees given that the legal system no longer recognises tenancy rights and all previous deadlines for the purchase of the property in question expired.
(EUR1 = 7.6 kuna)