Progressives deliver on Affordable Housing in the European Union

The Party of European Socialists (PES) welcomes the release of the first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan presented by Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, as a landmark step toward addressing the housing crisis affecting millions across the continent.

Through years of campaigning, our political family has been the one putting housing on the European agenda and making it a central issue in the European elections. We have thus secured the first European Commissioner for Housing and a European Parliament's special committee on the housing crisis, which was a key demand of the PES 2024 European election campaign.

This European Affordable Housing Plan is a turning point for the European Union's housing future. For too long, Europeans have faced skyrocketing rents and home prices driven by speculative investment and unregulated housing markets. Commissioner Jørgensen's plan takes decisive action to end the financialization of our housing stock, ensuring that housing is treated as a basic need, not a commodity.

The plan will introduce new regulations to curb speculation, revise EU state aid rules to empower governments to invest directly in affordable homes for both low-and middle-income families, and support public-private partnerships that balance fair returns with social responsibility.

Recognizing the pressure that short-term rentals place on urban communities, the plan will also address this growing issue with a proposal of a new legislative initiative protecting neighborhoods from being hollowed out by profit-driven short-stay markets.

We support the decisive steps to ramp up investments in affordable housing across the EU, and emphasize the need for a dedicated line in the next long-term EU budget as well as a clear roadmap to end homelessness by 2030.

Finally, the Affordable Housing Plan will offer guidance to city leaders across the EU, encouraging local action through best practices such as dedicating a fixed share of new housing to public or social homes.

PES President Stefan Löfven said:

"Housing is a basic human need and a fundamental right that we, as socialists and social democrats, are committed to deliver on. We believe housing is a common good, not a commodity. With the leadership of Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, the European Union is finally taking decisive steps to put people before profit. The EU should develop sustainable, inclusive and resilient housing systems - covering social, public, cooperative options and secure, regulated rentals - that put people and the planet at its core."

The PES strongly supports Commissioner Jørgensen's efforts to restore affordability, strengthen social cohesion, and build fairer cities for all Europeans. We reaffirm that our policies must be people-centred, and this plan shows that with progressive leadership, the EU can make housing policy serve people, not speculation.