Renewed efforts for mutual support between Ministries working on Housing Policy

For some years now there has been no regular exchange between Ministries responsible for housing policy in the EU. While housing is clearly a national policy and will remain so, exchange between peers who are facing the same challenges, whether those challenges include shrinking cities, lack of affordable housing, an ageing housing stock in need of refurbishment, or mobility for ageing population, can only represent an added value. 

The Slovakian presidency of the EU which has kicked off with a series of meetings in Bratislava has brought the so-called housing focal points together and hopes that this will the beginning of renewed much needed exchange across the Europe on housing issue.

The Slovakian Housing ministry also hosted a meeting of the Housing Partnership which has been brought to life via the so-called Pact of Amsterdam, one of the achievements of the Dutch presidency of the EU. The Pact calls for a new approach at European level which gives a real voice to local actors, those who are on the front-line when it comes to addressing the real and every-day work of keeping our cities and towns functioning and serving the needs of all citizens in times of limited national budgets, climate change and heightened migration flows.

Housing Europe is a partner in the Housing Partnership and fully committed to helping achieve its aims of better regulation, better financing and better knowledge in the field of housing at European level. The aims of the partnership are in line with the aim of our 2016 campaign on housing for all which is dedicated to the delivery of EU policies which help not hamper work to improve the supply of affordable housing.