A delegation of mayors in Brussels to request 300 billion euros to address the housing crisis

This alliance of Mayors for Housing brings together 15 European cities, including Barcelona, ​​Paris, Rome, Lisbon, and Warsaw, and warns of a housing crisis considered a "social emergency, an economic emergency, and a political emergency," in the words of the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri.

During a first meeting in February with Dan Jørgensen, the new European Commissioner for Housing and Energy, a position created in November, the latter invited the mayors to come back with concrete proposals to feed into the European plan on affordable housing that he is preparing.

The European Action Plan presented "is very ambitious and broad and brings many concrete and good proposals," Dan Jørgensen said at a press conference, adding that it is "too early" to know what measures will be included in his European plan.

The desired €300 billion fund would be dedicated to the construction and renovation of affordable housing, particularly social and public housing.

Mayors for Housing want cities to be "direct partners in the implementation" of this housing policy, said Roberto Gualtieri.

They are also calling for the creation of an indicator to identify areas under pressure in terms of housing and the sharing of data from short-term rental platforms, as provided for in regulations that will come into force in May 2026.

"We collectively face the same challenges in housing each of our residents. The middle classes, essential workers, the less fortunate, everyone must be able to live in our cities," said Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, in a statement.

"Europe is in the midst of a housing crisis in so many cities (…) It is therefore a major priority for this committee to help resolve this crisis," said Dan Jørgensen.

The European Commission "will have to examine how we can concretely facilitate more financing, in order to build more housing" and is working with the European Investment Bank (EIB) "on a pan-European investment platform," the Housing Commissioner said.

The development of a housing policy is "purely and entirely new in terms of European policy," recalled Teresa Ribera, the European Commission's executive vice-president responsible for ecological transition and competition.