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Procedure : 2019/2187(INI)
Document stages in plenary
Document selected : A9-0247/2020

Texts tabled :

A9-0247/2020

Debates :

PV 20/01/2021 - 14
CRE 20/01/2021 - 14

Votes :

PV 21/01/2021 - 2
PV 21/01/2021 - 13

Texts adopted :

P9_TA(2021)0020

Verbatim report of proceedings
XML 51k
Wednesday, 20 January 2021 - Brussels Revised edition

14. Decent and affordable housing for all (debate)
Video of the speeches
PV
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  Presidente. – L'ordine del giorno reca la relazione di Kim Van Sparrentak, a nome della commissione per l'occupazione e gli affari sociali, sull'accesso a un alloggio dignitoso e a prezzi abbordabili per tutti (2019/2187(INI)) (A9-0247/2020).

Ricordo agli onorevoli deputati che per tutte le discussioni di questa tornata non è prevista la procedura "catch-the-eye", né saranno accettate domande "cartellino blu".

Sono inoltre previsti interventi a distanza dagli Uffici di collegamento del Parlamento negli Stati membri.

 
  
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  Kim Van Sparrentak, rapporteur. – Mr President, dear Commissioner Schmit, thank you for being here today, dear colleagues, today we are discussing the report on access to decent and affordable housing for all, because we are facing a housing crisis in Europe. From Paris to Warsaw, Dublin to Athens, an increasing number of people in the EU are struggling to afford the rising cost of housing. Even before the start of the pandemic, one in ten Europeans were spending more than 40% of their income on housing. And not only the price, but also the quality of housing is a problem. Far too many people in Europe are living in overcrowded, damp, poorly-insulated, or otherwise unhealthy homes, with unaffordable utility bills.

We can’t just be bystanders; this housing crisis is affecting people from all demographics: young people who are forced to stay with their families longer than they want because they can’t afford a place of their own; people who are thinking of starting a family but are postponing this since they still live in a studio, for which they can only just make the rent; elderly people who would like to move out of their family home but can’t afford to get an adjusted apartment, whilst young families are desperately waiting for a family home to move into.

And this is the housing crisis for those that actually have a home, because the sad reality still is that more than 700 000 people sleep rough every night in Europe, and this number keeps on rising year after year in the last decade. This report recognises that access to decent and affordable housing is a fundamental right, a right that is guaranteed at EU level. This can’t just remain nice words, colleagues. And as a rapporteur on this topic in the European Parliament, it has become clear to me that the European rules today are often better at protecting the making of profit on the housing market than at protecting people who need a roof over their head. This has to change. We need the EU to step up its game and do its part with all the tools it has at its disposal to tackle the housing crisis, side by side with the Member States and local level that of are, of course, crucial. The report offers concrete solutions for the Commission, the Member States, and the local level to take action. And for this, I also want to thank the shadow rapporteurs, with whom I had a very pleasant collaboration.

Because we can solve the housing crisis if we want to. We can end homelessness by 2030. Homelessness is an extreme form of poverty and a violation of human rights. In the coming six months, the Commission will propose its action plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights that addresses homelessness in its Principle 19. And the topic is high on the agenda of the Portuguese Presidency. The Commission should be bold and dare to propose a social moonshot strategy: an EU level goal together with all the Member States to end homelessness by 2030.

Commissioner Schmit, I’m very happy that you’ve already shown your willingness to work on this, and the European Parliament with this report makes also a strong call to tackle homelessness once and for all. Let’s be partners and put the collaboration platform on homelessness that has been announced to work with a clear and ambitious target.

We can also increase investments in affordable housing. Since the financial crisis, we have an average annual investment gap in affordable and social housing of EUR 57 billion per year. We need to urgently close this gap.

We can, on the one hand, ensure that EU prioritise this investment for each budget and that Member States prioritise it in their recovery plans. On the other hand, the new fiscal rule book of the EU should allow for more public investment in housing. We can fight climate change, create jobs and tackle energy poverty through housing renovation.

We are living through a health crisis; we have an economic and social crisis unfolding; there is a climate emergency. We can tackle all these issues by investing in quality housing through the renovation wave. We know that housing renovation can create two million jobs. This investment in renovation can help kickstart the economy. Bad indoor quality, damp housing, mouldiness – all have an important influence on respiratory diseases like Covid, so we can improve people’s health through renovation, and on top of that we can get millions of people out of energy poverty.

We can stop illegal holiday rentals. In more and more cities, residents are pushed out of their neighbourhoods because it’s more profitable to rent apartments to tourists. Many cities feel powerless against these platforms when trying to get rid of illegal hotels. We can give cities more control over short-term holiday rentals through platforms like Airbnb. Through the Digital Services Act, we have to make sure that these platforms share the necessary data on rentals with cities so that rules on illegal holiday rentals can be enforced.

We can make sure houses are to live in. Rather than a fundamental right to be guaranteed for all, housing has increasingly been considered only as a market to make profits through speculative acquisitions and through hedge funds and foreign institutional investors such as Blackstone, treating housing as a tradable asset. This has a dramatic effect on prices. We can do something about this by checking if the EU rules on real estate transactions and ownership, and put forward proposals to better protect mortgage borrowers from evictions.

Citizens across Europe are struggling and count on us to stand by their side. With an economic and social crisis unfolding, the European Parliament will send a strong signal that we are serious about a strong, social Europe. That is why this report receives very broad support in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, and that is why, dear colleagues, I count on your support for this report in plenary as well.

 
  
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  Nicolas Schmit, Member of the Commission. – Mr President, I would like to start by thanking the rapporteur for the report and also for the presentation of the report, which really highlighted the issue and the challenges, and the real dimension of the housing problem, which affects all Member States in the European Union. So it’s not just a national issue; it has become a real European issue. I also want to thank the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs for its timely and very relevant work on this report on access to housing.

Importantly, the report calls for an integrated approach to social, public and affordable housing at EU level. I very much share the objective of tackling homelessness and of supporting access to decent and affordable housing as a key factor in fighting poverty and social exclusion. We talk a lot about better wages, about minimum wages; this is extremely important. But even if I increase the minimum wage, if housing rents are increasing much more, people have not gained – they are not more prosperous; they have become even poorer. So I think the housing issue is a central issue in terms of social policy and improving the social context in all our Member States.

Last year’s employment and social developments in Europe highlighted the strain that the increase in house prices over the last decade is putting on the middle class in the EU. There is a poverty trap looming because of this housing crisis for a lot of people who can no longer afford to find decent housing, and I would say housing close to their job, which, incidentally, creates other issues of transportation and CO2 emissions.

Housing costs are higher in cities than in rural areas and represent a burden for more than one third of households living below the poverty threshold. In 2018, one person out of seven in the EU was living in a dwelling of poor quality. Thirty-Four million Europeans are struggling to keep their homes adequately warm in winter. And, more worryingly, homelessness trends have been on the rise over the last decade in most Member States. And I agree that we need better and more data to really understand what is happening here.

The COVID-19 crisis has worsened inequalities and people’s ability to cover housing-related expenses. The health crisis has underlined how essential a decent home is to health and well-being. It has demonstrated the vulnerability of persons, families, children, who experience homelessness and the pressing need to address this extreme form of social exclusion.

As the honourable Members know, housing policies are obviously a national prerogative. But the EU has a key role to play in supporting its Member States, in helping Member States to exchange experiences – and indeed there are good and positive experiences all over Europe – on developing affordable housing, and also, in financially supporting the development of affordable housing.

In the context of the COVID-19 recovery strategy, building renovation constitutes an opportunity to boost the green transition and, at the same time, employment. In particular, the renovation of social and affordable housing districts has the potential to reduce energy poverty, create local jobs and bring long—lasting benefits for communities. In this regard, local social economy enterprises can also play a key role by improving the accessibility and affordability of housing. The Commission encourages Member States to include building renovation in their recovery and resilience plans, with particular emphasis on social and affordable housing, and, in accordance with the principles introduced in the renovation wave, to establish long—term local public-private partnerships, supporting skills, digitalisation and smart technologies.

Energy poverty is a strong focus of the renovation wave. The Commission has issued a recommendation to support national, regional and local efforts in tackling this issue. In addition, it will continue to support the EU Energy Poverty Observatory, which collects data, develops indicators and disseminates best practices for tackling energy poverty. The Commission will also support eradicating homelessness through Next Generation EU and the next long—term EU budget, namely under the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). In particular, the integrated housing——led approach will be supported by the ERDF in combination with ESF+. This approach follows the principles of Housing First, which combines immediate housing with enabling services to help previously homeless people pay their rent, promotes stable living conditions and prevents repeat homelessness.

To tackle all these issues, and to help Member States – but also local authorities, municipalities and regions – address this problem of homelessness, together with the Portuguese Presidency we will organise a conference in June. It will be a broad conference bringing together all stakeholders – not only Member States, the Commission, Parliament and national parliaments, but also local authorities and NGOs – precisely to create a common platform to address the problem of housing and mainly the problem of homelessness.

There are good approaches in certain Member States and municipalities in our Union. We really have to help everybody to address this problem efficiently, with the aim of reducing drastically – if not absolutely – the question of homelessness. The future Invest-EU programme and its social and skills window will support investment in social housing and accompanying services for vulnerable groups. Homelessness and housing affordability and their social and macroeconomic implications are considered in the context of the European semester and included in the country—specific recommendations addressed to Member States.

I’m looking ahead to the upcoming action plan implementing the European pillar of social rights, which will clearly emphasis this problem and we will discuss how to concretely translate principle 19 to the benefit of all those who suffer from bad housing or even the absence of housing.

 
  
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  Dennis Radtke, im Namen der PPE-Fraktion. – Herr Präsident, Herr Kommissar, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Zunächst mal ganz herzlichen Dank an die Berichterstatterin und an die Schattenberichterstatter für die hier vorgelegte Arbeit – eine extrem wichtige Arbeit, aber in einigen Details auch ein etwas schwieriger Bericht.

Also worüber man mit der EVP nicht streiten muss, ist die grundsätzliche Frage und auch die grundsätzliche Leidenschaft und Bereitschaft, gegen Obdachlosigkeit und für bezahlbaren Wohnraum zu kämpfen, darüber muss man mit uns nicht streiten. Aber über einige Details müssen wir uns schon unterhalten. Deswegen haben wir in diesem Bericht auf zwei key votes für uns markiert. Das ist zum einen die Frage: verbindliche Renovierungsquote. Ja, beim Thema energetische Gebäudesanierung sind die größten Potenziale, wenn es um die Frage CO2— Einsparungen geht. Aber die Ziele müssen auch realistisch und auch finanzierbar sein.

Genauso sieht es mit einem Investitionsverbot in Immobilien aus. Ja, auch hier gibt es einen echten Zielkonflikt. Aber wer sich den Aufbau von privater Altersvorsorge ansieht, der wird feststellen: Immobilieninvestments spielen an dieser Stelle eine große Rolle. Also deswegen: Lasst uns über diese Details streiten, das muss sein. Das werden wir auch jetzt in der Abstimmung austragen. Aber an der grundsätzlichen Richtung, dass wir hier mehr PS auf die Straße bringen müssen, darüber muss man mit der EVP nicht streiten. In diesem Sinne noch mal ganz herzlichen Dank für Eure geleistete Arbeit.

 
  
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  Estrella Durá Ferrandis, en nombre del Grupo S&D. – Señor presidente, en primer lugar, quiero felicitar a la ponente, Kim Van Sparrentak, por el excelente informe que ha presentado y la colaboración con los otros Grupos.

La crisis de la vivienda afecta a todos los Estados miembros y nos afecta a todos y todas. Las personas que tienen dificultad para acceder a la vivienda digna se cuentan no ya por miles, sino por millones en la Unión Europea. Cada vez más gente vive en barrios marginales y asentamientos informales, en condiciones de vida insalubres.

La pandemia no ha hecho más que agudizar esta situación. La vivienda es un derecho fundamental y uno de los pilares básicos del Estado de bienestar. Debe ser excluida de las reglas de la competencia, de la misma manera que la inversión social debe ser excluida de las políticas de consolidación fiscal. Tenemos que ser valientes y llevar a cabo importantes cambios; apostar de una vez por todas por un enfoque universalista de la vivienda.

El Grupo de la Alianza Progresista de Socialistas y Demócratas ha introducido en el informe verdaderas propuestas ambiciosas: la inclusión de la vivienda en los servicios económicos de interés general, para que se amplíe el grupo objetivo y que el acceso a la vivienda social se extienda también a las clases medias y no solo a los más vulnerables; que el indicador de sobrecarga del coste de la vivienda refleje la realidad de lo que viven las familias y se fije en no más del 25 % de su renta disponible; que se garantice la provisión de viviendas adecuadas y asequibles para los tres quintiles inferiores de la sociedad; y que el 30 % de las nuevas viviendas sean asequibles para las personas de ingresos medios y bajos.

Los desahucios y el sinhogarismo constituyen una violación de los derechos humanos. Hay que apoyar firmemente el programa Housing First. Es necesaria también la regulación del mercado de alquiler y del sector inmobiliario, abordando la especulación de la vivienda, aumentando los impuestos a los grandes tenedores de la vivienda y la oferta de vivienda de alquiler —sobre todo, de titularidad pública— y regulando las plataformas vacacionales.

Finalmente, la ola de renovación energética tiene que empezar por rehabilitar las viviendas de los grupos más desfavorecidos, y a los reguladores nos toca asegurar que los proveedores de electricidad adopten esquemas de protección para garantizar el suministro de energía a los más... (el presidente retira la palabra a la oradora).

 
  
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  Yana Toom, on behalf of the Renew Group. – Mr President, I’m happy to take part in this discussion which is one more sign of the big social shift which we have witnessed in the European Union in the last years.

It is also sad that also in this part of the world in the 21st century we’re still trying to solve the problem of homeless people. It was a big challenge even before the pandemic, but now things, as we know, are getting even worse. Economists predict that the current crisis will deepen the inequality, which means that the problem of housing will become even more serious.

The Renew Group shares the call on the Commission to take appropriate measures to help Member States to solve the problem. We very much welcome the idea of broadening the scope of those who are entitled to receive social housing, and I believe we have to keep in mind that the European Charter of Fundamental rights and the pillar of social rights will promise Europeans assistance in housing, so we must act.

But it doesn’t mean that we have to overreact. Renew Europe does not believe that in order to solve a problem we have to intervene into the free market and try to use measures tailored for one particular Member State all over Europe.

We are diverse not only culturally but also economically, and touristification in Venice is not the same as, let’s say, on Saaremaa island. But despite the fact that in some things the report goes too far, we welcome the initiative and hope that together with the Commission we can make a big step in the European Union where the right to housing will finally become not just a right, but the reality for everybody.

 
  
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  Stefania Zambelli, a nome del gruppo ID. – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, il diritto alla casa è sacrosanto. Purtroppo in tempi di crisi sociale come quella che stiamo vivendo non è una certezza per tutti. Il numero di persone ridotte alla fame e alla povertà è in continua crescita. Basta sentire i telegiornali e vedere le code di persone in attesa di un pasto caldo presso le varie associazioni di volontariato per capire che qualcosa non sta funzionando.

Ritengo che l'Europa abbia altro a cui pensare in questo periodo di crisi che occuparsi di edilizia popolare, mettendo paletti e condizioni per l'assegnazione di alloggi, privilegiando tra l'altro rom ed extracomunitari.

L'Europa non deve intromettersi nelle competenze dei singoli Stati. Servono piani nazionali che sappiano assecondare le necessità reali dei singoli territori e una politica in materia di immigrazione molto più rigida per arginare l'arrivo di migliaia di clandestini, perché solo così, e ripeto, perché solo così si ridurrebbe drasticamente il numero dei senzatetto delle nostre città e diminuirebbe il numero delle occupazioni abusive destinate a chi è in lista da anni.

 
  
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  Ciarán Cuffe, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group. – Mr President, housing is in the news often for all the wrong reasons. In Europe, 700 000 people will sleep rough tonight. In my own country of Ireland, 8 000 people are without a home today. Rents and costs are high. Many live in homes that are cold, damp and unaffordable.

My colleague Kim Van Sparrentak’s report says this does not have to be. Everyone deserves decent and affordable housing. Her report says we must recognise housing as a fundamental right under European Union law. We must seek to end homelessness over the next decade. We must bring together our national strategies.

That won’t help those who are homeless tonight, in Brussels or in Dublin, but it sends a message that Member States must do more. We must provide housing first to those who are homeless. We must make the renovation wave a reality by retrofitting existing homes and bringing public housing up to an A energy rating. We must build public homes in the numbers needed and we must learn from cities like Vienna and Helsinki that give housing the priority it deserves.

 
  
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  Beata Szydło, w imieniu grupy ECR. – Panie Przewodniczący! Szanowni Państwo! Powszechny dostęp do mieszkań to niewątpliwie priorytet. Nie ma godnego życia, jeżeli człowiek nie ma szansy na to, żeby mieć mieszkanie. Dotyczy to zarówno młodych ludzi, którzy planują swoją przyszłość, chcą założyć rodzinę, jak i osób starszych, które bardzo często są w trudnej sytuacji finansowej: nie stać ich na czynsz, nie stać ich na to, żeby kupić mieszkanie. Ale bardzo często dla tych osób, tak samo jak i dla osób niepełnosprawnych, dodatkową przeszkodą są bariery architektoniczne. No i wreszcie bezdomność, która dotyka tak wielu Europejczyków. To wszystko wymaga naszej troski i wsparcia. I w tym zakresie zgadzam się jak najpełniej ze sprawozdaniem. Zgadzam się też z tym, że budownictwo mieszkaniowe to koło zamachowe gospodarki. Ale nie zgadzam się z tym sprawozdaniem w tej części, kiedy próbuje się w nim narzucać kolejne normy, kolejne regulacje i wchodzić w kompetencje państw członkowskich. Powinniśmy wspierać państwa członkowskie przy finansowaniu dobrych projektów, ale nie narzucać kolejnych regulacji.

 
  
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  Leila Chaibi, au nom du groupe The Left. – Monsieur le Président, un grand merci d’abord à Kim Van Sparrentak pour l'excellent rapport et pour l'excellente collaboration que nous avons eue durant l'élaboration de ce rapport, dont j’espère qu’il sera voté à une large majorité.

Je voudrais revenir sur un point, étant donné que le temps nous est compté. Chers collègues, j’espère que dès la fin de cette fichue pandémie, vous pourrez revenir visiter Paris et quand vous vous baladerez entre les immeubles haussmanniens, je vous invite à repérer les vitres sales, les boîtes aux lettres pleines, à chaque fois ce sera le signe que l’immeuble est vide et vous verrez, il y en a plein. À Paris, près d’un logement sur cinq est vide: on appelle cela la spéculation immobilière. Moins il y a de logements sur le marché plus les immeubles se vendent cher, plus les prix des loyers montent et plus la crise du logement s’aggrave.

Pour sortir de cette crise, il faut remettre ces logements sur le marché et pour cela, il y a une solution, c’est la réquisition. Alors, à tous ceux qui hurlent à l’expropriation et à l’atteinte au droit de propriété, je vous rassure: réquisitionner c’est forcer un propriétaire à toucher un loyer tous les mois. Ça va, c’est loin d’être le goulag, vous en conviendrez. En plus, cela permettra à des millions de personnes d’avoir un toit sur la tête. Donc s’il y a une vraie raison de hurler, hurlons plutôt pour que le droit au logement soit réellement fondamental.

 
  
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  Chiara Gemma (NI). – Signor Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, due dati: 700 000 persone dormono in strada ogni notte, come è stato richiamato dalla relatrice, che ringrazio per la sua puntuale relazione; 80 milioni non riescono a pagare il proprio alloggio. È evidente che siamo di fronte ad una emergenza: il disagio abitativo.

Eppure il pilastro europeo dei diritti sociali riconosce il diritto all'assistenza abitativa per i bisognosi, per i senza dimora, per le persone vulnerabili. La casa non è un bene commerciale, è un diritto umano. Non è un mezzo per l'accumulo di ricchezza, è un bene sociale.

È tempo allora di contrastare le discriminazioni multiple e garantire alloggi dignitosi e abbordabili per tutti, e dico per tutti. E qui va il pensiero a coloro cui è negato il diritto a una propria casa: bambini, anziani, vittime di violenza domestica, donne, rifugiati, persone con disabilità, per le quali la tutela del diritto a vivere in modo indipendente è un dovere morale.

È evidente che le diverse politiche abitative, garanzia per un reale impulso alla coesione sociale, richiedono un unico approccio, quello che pone il rispetto per la dignità di ogni persona, nessuna esclusa, al centro di ogni scelta politica.

 
  
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  Eugen Tomac (PPE). –Domnule președinte, domnule comisar, criza locativă reprezintă un subiect extrem de important și de maximă actualitate astăzi, în vreme de pandemie.

Consider că este de datoria noastră să răspundem la această problemă cu soluții extrem de practice și aplicate. În mod evident, pentru noi reprezintă o mare provocare, cu atât mai mult cu cât sunt zeci de milioane de cetățeni care sunt puternic împovărați de costurile locuințelor, trăind în case vechi, insalubre, aglomerate, ineficiente din punct de vedere energetic și, ceea ce este cel mai grav, multe dintre ele, nesigure.

Pandemia generată de coronavirus a accentuat suferința acestora, deoarece mulți dintre ei au fost nevoiți să rămână închiși pentru perioade îndelungate de timp în cămine insalubre.

Dreptul fundamental de a trăi într-o locuință de bună calitate ar trebui să fie garantat tuturor cetățenilor din Uniunea Europeană și în acest sens se impun măsuri îndrăznețe. Mai mult decât atât, cutremurele devastatoare care au afectat recent Croația, la finalul anului trecut, nu fac decât să reconfirme pericolul în care se află zi de zi milioane de cetățeni europeni.

Tocmai de aceea cred că, inclusiv orașul în care locuiesc eu, București, unde avem peste 2 000 de clădiri cu risc seismic ridicat, care pun în pericol viața a zeci de mii de cetățeni, obligă Uniunea Europeană la o politică extrem de activă în această dimensiune.

 
  
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  Agnes Jongerius (S&D). – Voorzitter, als de huizenprijzen omhoogschieten ondanks een economische crisis, als de wachtlijsten voor sociale huurwoningen soms wel een kwart van een mensenleven duren en als bakstenen vooral gezien worden als een interessante belegging voor huisjesmelkers, dan is het tijd om in te grijpen. Voor veel mensen is een goede en betaalbare woning een ver-van-mijn-bedshow geworden, een onbereikbare droom. Dat is onacceptabel. Daarom moeten we inderdaad meer investeren in meer sociale huurwoningen. Het moet de standaard worden dat in alle nieuwbouwprojecten ook voldoende sociale huurwoningen gebouwd worden. In Europa, in Nederland, verdienen jongeren, gezinnen en ouderen een goede woning die zij hun thuis kunnen noemen.

 
  
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  Dominique Bilde (ID). – Monsieur le Président, une vingtaine de sans-papiers vivant dans 37 m2 dans le Val d’Oise, 200 migrants dans un squat à Marseille, une pénurie grandissante de logements sociaux en Île-de-France, des camps de migrants et de Roms aux abords de nos villes, ce sont là quelques exemples qui démontrent le triste état de notre pays la France aujourd’hui.

Nous ne cessons de répéter ce que vous refusez de voir: le flux migratoire incessant aggrave les problèmes de logement, n’en déplaise aux donneurs de leçon qui habitent volontairement bien loin de ceux qu’ils prétendent défendre. Pour en finir avec le fatalisme et l’hypocrisie des bien-pensants, stoppons l’immigration qui produit des effets catastrophiques pour les catégories populaires qui en subissent les effets de plein fouet. Affirmons la préférence nationale en matière d’attribution des logements sociaux, menons la guerre aux marchands de sommeil, qui à l’instar des passeurs, profitent du laxisme de nos États, en même temps que de la misère sociale. Stop à la tiers-mondialisation de nos nations.

 
  
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  Beata Mazurek (ECR). – Panie Przewodniczący! Sprawiedliwy dostęp do przyzwoitych i dostępnych cenowo mieszkań to prawo każdego człowieka, które powinno być powszechnie zagwarantowane. Brak tej możliwości może mieć fatalne skutki ekonomiczne dla całej Wspólnoty Europejskiej, mieć negatywny wpływ na i tak już rozchwiane nastroje społeczne.

Niestety pandemia COVID-19 nie oszczędziła tej gałęzi gospodarki. Problem dotyczy dziesiątek milionów mieszkańców Europy, którzy w wyniku jej następstw mają poważne trudności z opłaceniem czynszu i rachunków za mieszkanie. To, w jakiej formie będzie nasza gospodarka po koronawirusie, w dużej mierze zależeć będzie od tego, czy będziemy działać wspólnie i czy będziemy angażować instytucje unijne w celu zwiększenia dostępności mieszkań wśród osób o różnych potrzebach mieszkaniowych.

Często liczba oddawanych mieszkań nie przekłada się znacząco na poprawę ich dostępności. Problem ten dotyczy ludzi młodych, którzy wchodzą na rynek pracy, a także rodzin wielodzietnych, których dochody są zbyt niskie, aby nabyć mieszkanie po cenach rynkowych, a jednocześnie zbyt wysokie, by móc ubiegać się o najem mieszkania komunalnego. Dziś jasno musimy powiedzieć i zapewnić obywateli, że Unia Europejska nie zostawi nikogo bez dachu nad głową.

 
  
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  Cindy Franssen (PPE). – Voorzitter, geachte commissaris, collega's, degelijke en betaalbare huisvesting is voor veel Europeanen geen evidentie, laat staan voor de meer dan 700 000 daklozen in de EU. Het recht op huisvesting is nochtans vermeld in de sociale pijler en staat verankerd in het Europees Verdrag voor de rechten van de mens. In België is degelijke huisvesting zelfs een sociaal grondrecht. Bovendien biedt huisvesting de sleutel om toegang te krijgen tot andere rechten en andere sociale diensten.

Ben ik het eens met elke paragraaf in dit dossier? Zeer zeker niet. Maar als medevoorzitter van de interfractiewerkgroep Armoedebestrijding steun ik dit dossier omdat degelijke huisvesting een van de belangrijkste hefbomen is in de strijd tegen armoede. En ik wil het hier hebben over dakloosheid. Het laatste decennium is het aantal daklozen met 70 % gestegen. Daarom is het zo belangrijk om een Europees samenwerkingsplatform voor dakloosheid te hebben, om dit luik van de sociale pijler te realiseren en de “Housing First”-aanpak verder uit te rollen. Want eerlijk gezegd, dakloosheid hoort niet thuis in een welvarend Europa. En om het met uw woorden te zeggen, mijnheer de commissaris: het hoort thuis in musea.

 
  
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  Heléne Fritzon (S&D). – Herr Talman! Redan före pandemin så stod det klart att det finns en brist på lämpliga bostäder till en rimlig kostnad. Många européer lever i dag i ohälsosamma och trånga bostäder. Alldeles för många tvingas också uppleva att bli vräkta från sina hem och hemlösheten har brett ut sig.

Det finns en rad utmaningar för bostadssituationen i Europa, där betänkandet kommer med konkreta förslag som är välkomna. Samtidigt är det så klart viktigt att vi har en god balans mellan EU-nivån och den nationella nivån, då bostadspolitik i grunden är medlemsstaternas ansvar.

Bostadsbristen måste byggas bort. Segregationen i boendet måste motverkas och klimatpåverkan i både byggande och boende måste minskas. Där EU kan agera för en framåtsyftande bostadspolitik, där SKA EU göra det. Jag välkomnar Nicolas Schmit besked när det gäller den framtida bostadspolitiken.

 
  
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  Guido Reil (ID). – Herr Präsident, liebe Kolleginnen und Kollegen! Wir sprechen heute über den Zugang zu angemessenem und erschwinglichem Wohnraum für alle. Das ist ein sehr wichtiges Thema, denn in den letzten Jahren sind die Mieten explodiert, und leider leben in der EU mittlerweile 700 000 Menschen auf der Straße, sie sind obdachlos.

Aber welche Lösungsvorschläge werden uns jetzt hier in dem Bericht gemacht? In erster Linie ist es uns wichtig, den Grünen Deal umzusetzen. Viele Wohnungen sollen energetisch saniert werden. Aber Wohnungen, die energetisch saniert werden, sind nicht unbedingt bezahlbar. Als Beispiel möchte ich mal das Beispiel aus Deutschland geben: Die Stadt Kiel hat den Stadtteil Gaarden aufwendig energetisch saniert. In diesem Stadtteil haben bis vor ein paar Jahren vor allen Dingen Geringverdiener, Sozialhilfeempfänger und Migranten gelebt. Nach dieser schicken Sanierung wurden genau diese Menschen in Wohnbaracken verdrängt, oder sie wurden gar in die Obdachlosigkeit gedrängt, und gekommen sind neue Bewohner. In erster Linie Grünen-Wähler, die sich dieses schicke Umfeld leisten können.

Die grüne Politik ist eine Politik der sozialen Kälte, der Eiseskälte, und das dürfen wir nicht zulassen. Wir brauchen echte soziale Politik für echte Menschen!

 
  
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  Λουκάς Φουρλάς (PPE). – Κύριε Πρόεδρε, κύριε Επίτροπε, στη χώρα μου, την Κύπρο, η κατοικία αποτελεί ιερό θεσμό. Το 1974, εκατοντάδες χιλιάδες Κύπριοι έχασαν τα σπίτια τους εξαιτίας της τουρκικής εισβολής. Το 2013, οι Κύπριοι πολίτες «έβαλαν πλάτη» για να στηρίξουν τις τράπεζες, χάνοντας μέρος ή ολόκληρες τις καταθέσεις τους. Σήμερα, αυτές οι ίδιες οι τράπεζες απειλούν να πάρουν τα σπίτια όσων δεν μπορούν να αποπληρώσουν το χρέος τους. Σήμερα, και ενόσω η πανδημία συνεχίζεται, δεν νοείται κανένας άνθρωπος να χάσει το σπίτι του. Τα κράτη μέλη πρέπει να θεσπίσουν νομικές διατάξεις για πιστωτικές διευκολύνσεις και για προστασία των ενοίκων έναντι της έξωσης. Επαναλαμβάνω: κανένας άνθρωπος δεν πρέπει να χάσει το σπίτι του.

Υποστηρίζουμε την πολιτική της Επιτροπής, κύριε Επίτροπε, για τις ανακαινίσεις κατοικιών. Αυτή η πολιτική θα δημιουργήσει θέσεις εργασίας, θα συμβάλει στην προστασία του περιβάλλοντος και θα επιτρέψει σε εκατομμύρια Ευρωπαίους πολίτες να έχουν πρόσβαση σε προσιτή στέγη. Πάνω από τέσσερα εκατομμύρια άστεγοι ζουν αυτήν τη στιγμή στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση, κι αυτό δεν τιμά κανέναν μας.

 
  
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  Elisabetta Gualmini (S&D). – Mr President, housing is the first and most important among social rights, from which all the others derive.

If you have a roof over your head you can develop social relationships, create a family and raise children, cut down your feelings of insecurity and distress. In Europe, 80 million citizens are unable to pay the costs of their houses and the ranks of the homeless have grown by 70% in the last a decade.

We now have to build up a real European plan on housing, based on sustainability. Fortunately a wind of change is blowing through Europe, since Europe is now able to show what solidarity means in front of the big suffering of the people because of the pandemic. So a good society is the one in which the minimum expectations of each of us are fulfilled. We can’t be indifferent to those who sleep in the streets. We can’t be indifferent to those who simply need to build up a future.

I hope that this House, our House, will strongly support this dossier.

 
  
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  Nicolas Schmit, membre de la Commission. – Monsieur le Président, chers membres, en fait, ces trois débats que vous avez organisés aujourd’hui ont un point commun important. Le point commun, c’est comment est-ce qu’on peut garantir plus de justice sociale, comment est-ce qu’on peut garantir à tous les citoyens européens, où qu’ils vivent, un certain nombre de droits fondamentaux sans lesquels on ne peut pas organiser sa vie? Cela vaut pour la crise de la COVID et ses conséquences sur l’emploi, ça vaut pour ceux qui ont déjà été frappé par cette crise, ceux qui sont dans la pauvreté et ça vaut pour ceux qui sont les victimes de la crise du logement.

Il y a un large consensus sur ce droit au logement. Le logement, ce n’est pas uniquement un secteur économique, un objet de spéculation, c’est un droit. Et puisque c’est un droit, alors il faut le concrétiser, il faut garantir sa mise en œuvre à tout le monde et je crois que c’est sur cela que partout, dans tous les États membres, il faut faire des efforts. Il faut effectivement veiller à ce que les logements soient accessibles, soient abordables, qu’il y ait des logements sociaux.

Il est vrai aussi que, dans le contexte de la rénovation, qui est centrale et qui peut être un atout majeur, à la fois social mais aussi économique, notamment pour sortir de cette crise, il y a aussi des dangers, cela a été notamment relevé par d’aucuns, et le danger, c’est que vous rénovez et vous expulsez. En fait, vous rendez ces logements rénovés inabordables et c’est ce qu’il faut éviter parce que ça s’appelle la gentrification. Des quartiers qui offraient un logement à des gens à un certain niveau de loyer deviennent soudain inaccessibles une fois que les logement sont rénovés. Et là c’est un danger, parce que cela augmente, cela aggrave la crise du logement et cela aggrave aussi l'injustice sociale.

Quand on regarde l’évolution des loyers, notamment dans de nombreux centres urbains, et l’évolution des salaires, on voit que la fourchette s’est complètement ouverte. Donc, il faut agir de façon coordonnée bien sûr chaque fois dans un contexte national et local sur la question des plateformes qui, finalement, immobilisent des milliers, des centaines de milliers de logements.

Le problème des logements non occupés pour des raisons de spéculation foncière doit être maîtrisé, comme il faut maîtriser les investissements dans des logements abordables. Du reste – je viens de voir arriver mon collègue de l’économie –, le logement c’est un problème social, mais c’est aussi un problème économique. Un grand problème économique. Nous savons que, parfois, la crise du logement prend une autre forme. Elle prend la forme de bulles avec des crises financières à la clé, donc je crois qu’il y a là une dimension européenne qu’il ne faut pas méconnaître, qu’il ne faut pas ignorer.

Merci pour ce débat, merci pour ce rapport. Agissons et la Commission sera au rendez-vous.

 
  
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  Presidente. – La discussione è chiusa.

La votazione sugli emendamenti si svolgerà oggi, mercoledì 20 gennaio 2021, mentre la votazione finale si terrà domani, giovedì 21 gennaio 2021.

 
Last updated: 9 March 2021Legal notice - Privacy policy