Answer given by Ms Thyssen on behalf of the European Commission
6.11.2018
As the Honourable Member rightly points out, access to adequate and affordable housing is the responsibility of Members States' authorities. The EU complements and supports Member States' efforts:
The ‘European Pillar of Social Rights’[1], launched by the Commission and jointly proclaimed in November 2017 by the three EU institutions, sets out principles and rights which serve as a compass towards upwards convergence in employment and social outcomes. In particular, Principle 19 of the Pillar is dedicated to housing and assistance for the homeless. The European Pillar of Social Rights is accompanied by a new Social Scoreboard aimed at contributing to the monitoring of progress on the ground, and at tracking trends and performances across Member States to inform policy guidance.
The Commission uses the European Semester of economic policy coordination, to monitor the progress and make proposals for country-specific recommendations[2] to stimulate better implementation.
To improve the availability of data used for monitoring, the Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have jointly developed a housing database[3], including information on public policies towards affordable housing.
Other activities to support Member States include EU funds such as the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the European Fund for Strategic Investment. These funds are used to support housing solutions and the development of accompanying services.
In 2016, the EU Urban Agenda Housing Partnership was launched as a platform bringing together Commission, national ministries, city governments and other stakeholders with the aim to come up with a concrete action plan on how to improve access to affordable housing in cities[4].
- [1] European Pillar of Social Rights — Proclamation.
- [2] The 2018 country reports contain several references to housing, for more details: https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/2018-european-semester-country-reports_en
- [3] http://www.oecd.org/social/affordable-housing-database.htm
- [4] https://ec.europa.eu/futurium/en/housing