Wider partnerships and the first Social Housing Week
History Series #8
Brussels, 29 November 2013 | Social
Europe’s first Social Housing Week, held by CECODHAS in Brussels from 10 to 14 October 2005 was a landmark for the sector. The conference was attended by 400 delegates from 22 countries, among them 5 EU ministers and ministerial delegations from Hungary, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Spain, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Poland.
Struan Stevenson, vice president of the European Parliament, opened the parallel Social Housing Week Exhibition. At the same time six conference sessions hold discussions and present new publications such as “safe as houses”, analyzing good practices to tackle anti-social behavior.
EU-wide partnerships keep moving forward. In 2006 the Urban Intergroup Hoof the European Parliament adopts the European Housing Charter. The following year the European Investment bank, the Bank of the Council of Europe and Dexia give financial support to a conference organized by CECODHAS and the Committee of Regions on the new opportunities offered by the European Structural Funds.
Housing Europe Centre
In 2007 the time had come for a social housing core within the European capital of Brussels. The Housing Europe Centre opens bringing CECODHAS and the Brussels offices of the national housing federations from France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden under one roof.
The policy at EU level sees the protection for social housing being reinforced by the inclusion of an additional Protocol on Services of general interest into the Lisbon Treaty.
To be continued on Friday, December 6…
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