Christopher Collignon.
BELGIAN
Faced with the arrival of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war, “we do not know the number of people who will come to Wallonia, but we must be ready”, assures Christophe Collignon, Walloon Minister for Housing and Local Authorities.
Their accommodation and their integration into society are the responsibility of the Regions”, explains Collignon who evokes the action plan in the south of the country, in Sudinfo this Wednesday.
Currently, it is estimated that 1,800 Ukrainians are hosted in Wallonia. Of the 9,000 reception places identified in the south of the country, 7,200 are at this stage housing proposals to which are added 1,800 transit accommodation, for example via the CPAS, details the minister.
Asked about a screening of the owners, the minister assures that a “verification” is done “but there is urgency”. “We don’t have time to take hours and hours. We are working on a charter for welcoming people. And when there is a domiciliation, the police will be able to check that everything is in order”, guaranteed the minister. “We have to see how cities and towns can check the quality of housing,” he adds.
All collective housing is being quantified, he continues. “Holiday centres, Adeps centres, in the Catholic case, pilgrim reception centres, or even training centres. We have to quantify things to gradually manage the emergency. We have also put the platform back in place (internet ) of active housing provision after the floods”. Tuesday afternoon, the site, being translated into Ukrainian, had exceeded 500 offers.
“There are still a lot of unknowns”, recognizes Collignon, “but we will refine this action plan”.
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