At the UN Headquarters: Housing Europe touches on aligning EU funds with the affordable housing agenda

Spoiler alert: these funds alone would not close the enormous gap for decent, affordable homes. 

First, we must make sure that EU money is not leaving out the most vulnerable. Second, for these funds to be absorbed for the right reasons, they must strike a balance between being simple enough to use and ensuring that the value that they generate keeps investments by governments in the system.

"Governments need to stop slashing public investment and start stepping up," Housing Europe's Senior Policy Officer, Edit Lakatos stressed at the meeting of UNECE Housing and Land Management Unit which brought ministries and agencies dealing with housing, economic development, and urban planning from 50+ countries.

"With a new Commissioner for Energy and Housing, we have a unique moment to make housing a basic social right for everyone in Europe." Edit urged the need for swift collaboration with the new Commissioner to tackle the housing crisis across the EU's 27 Member States, emphasising the importance of policies based on solid data and facts. Exactly 3 years after the breakthrough hashtag#Housing2030 report by Housing Europe, UNECE and UN-Habitat showed effective policies for affordable housing in the UN Headquarters, we reminded that the report must become the go-to document for any decision maker working on housing.