The European Union is poised to unveil its first-ever housing strategy today, Tuesday, December 16, 2025, following extensive consultations with experts, stakeholders, and the public. This historic announcement comes amidst growing pressure from a group of 17 mayors from across the EU, including the Mayor of Athens, who are demanding a robust response to what they describe as a “new pandemic” of rising housing costs.
Mayors for Housing Alliance Calls for Billions in Funding
Jaume Collboni, the Mayor of Barcelona, who last year founded the “Mayors for Housing” alliance with the support of his counterparts in Paris and Rome, has been a leading voice in this movement. Collboni characterized the housing crisis as an unprecedented internal threat to the Union, warning that a failure to adequately address it could lead citizens to question the ability of democracies to solve their most significant problems.
Over the past year, the alliance, representing more than 20 million citizens, has been advocating for the EU to take more decisive action against what they term a “social emergency.” They argue that the crisis has fueled inequalities, fractured the social fabric, and, in some instances, contributed to the rise of the far-right.
From Athens to Amsterdam, and Bologna to Budapest, the mayors are collectively calling on the EU to establish an affordable housing fund, drawing parallels to the pandemic-era NextGenerationEU program. Such a fund would aim to mobilize at least 300 billion euros annually in public and private investments to bolster social and affordable housing initiatives.
Soaring Housing Costs Across the EU
Data from Eurostat underscores the severity of the crisis, revealing that house prices across the EU surged by 48% between 2010 and 2023, while rents increased by 22% over the same period. By 2023, nearly one in ten citizens were spending 40% or more of their disposable income on housing. This figure was particularly stark in Greece, where 29% of the population faced such burdens, compared to 15% in Denmark and 13% in Germany.
EU Commissioner Outlines Strategic Actions
In an interview with Politico, European Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen indicated that the new EU strategy would combine concrete actions with recommendations for member states. The package is expected to provide national, regional, and local authorities with tools to target tourist apartments, which exacerbate housing shortages in cities like Barcelona, Florence, and Prague. Short-term rentals currently account for up to 20% of housing in some particularly strained areas.
Furthermore, the strategy will include a new construction initiative designed to reduce bureaucracy and establish common standards. This aims to facilitate the use of competitively priced building materials from one member state in housing projects across others. Efforts will also be made to address the needs of over a million homeless Europeans, many of whom are not citizens of the countries where they live on the streets.
The EU’s comprehensive housing strategy is a critical step towards addressing a multifaceted crisis that impacts millions of citizens. The collaboration between the EU and local authorities, as exemplified by the “Mayors for Housing” alliance, highlights the urgent need for coordinated action to ensure affordable and accessible housing for all Europeans.
Source: naftemporiki.gr
