If the threat of Russia for the security of the continent has led the EU to raise exceptional measures such as the relaxation of fiscal discipline so that the increase in military spending does not compute for debt and deficit, the housing crisis is the enemy internal that must be stopped with similar tools. This is what the mayors of Barcelona and other eleven European cities that have allied under the concept ‘mayors for housing’ to claim in Brussels more speed and ambition in the matter.
In the document they have delivered to the vice president of the European Commission Teresa Ribera and the Housing Commissioner, Dan Jorgensen, propose a review of the fiscal rules “to exclude investments in affordable housing of the maximum deficit and debt limits established by the Growth and stability pact ”. That is the approach made by Ursula von der Leyen for defense spending: lift restrictions and that these budget items do not compute for the path of deficit and debt, which must be placed at 3% and 60% of GDP , respectively.
Another of the approaches made by the councilors, among which are socialist mayor (those of Paris, Athens, Rome, Bologna or Lyon); Greens like Budapest’s or Amsterdam representation; Liberals such as Lisbon or Gante, and conservatives, such as Warsaw, is that the recovery funds that have not been executed can devote themselves to housing. That is another of the proposals that the European Commission for Defense has on the table.
The councilors also claim that the funds can be transferred to the cities so that the management is direct. That would mean a time saving before what they consider to be an emergency. The person in charge of reading that part of the manifesto has been the mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karacsary, who leads a progressive government in the ultra -right -wing kingdom of Viktor Orbán. What they intend, in addition, is that the European Commission facilitates regulatory frameworks for cities and thus overcome the blockages of national governments, such as Giorgia Meloni, which also prevents initiatives for local governments such as Rome or Bologna. “The EU is not a union of national governments but of nations and citizens should not be punished by governments,” Karacsary said.
Likewise, they urge the European Commission to modify the framework of state aid to allow countries to increase investments in the sector. Von der Leyen, who has recognized that the housing crisis is one of the priorities of his mandate after community technicians have long been sounding alarms, he made that proposal during the speech of his investiture in July, but they have not been given Steps in that direction yet. Ribera is expected to present his proposal in July this year.
Despite giving housing a priority character, the European plan will have to wait at least until 2026 to be ready, according to the action program presented by the European Commission last week. That rhythm is insufficient for ‘mayors for housing’. “We need solutions and we need them,” Collboni said when reading the manifesto in the European Parliament: “Exceptional times require exceptional measures.”
Barcelona vs Madrid in Brussels
Collboni has been in Brussels for several days defending the proposal and on Tuesday he appeared in the Eurocamara to expose the measures that Barcelona is taking in housing. With the same purpose was the councilor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who was in favor of intervening as much as possible in the market, against what was defended by Catalan, although he did not rule out “studying any measure to solve the problem of the house ”. “But I think they have to be very limited,” he said.
Even so, Almeida presumed precisely from the regulation she has launched to control the tourist floors and assured that eight out of ten who have been inspected have “voluntarily” decide to renounce their economic activity. However, it fundamentally defended the need to build new housing as a formula to solve the crisis.
Collboni, meanwhile, firmly defended the State Housing Law – which in the Community of Madrid does not apply – and assured that “changing the rules of the game to protect families” has allowed to reduce the prices by 3.5% of the rent in Barcelona in the month of December. “We can say that we have stopped the price escalation,” said the PSC leader, who defended the extinction of licenses for tourist floors in 2028: “10,000 homes that in 2028 will pass to the ordinary market to be sold or rented. 25,000 people who can stay in Barcelona. ”
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