Here comes the housing Commissioner, right next to the Mediterranean one

With the new mandate, the re-elected president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen promised to add two new figures in the picture: the Mediterranean Commissioner and the Commissioner for housing. While we already presented the Mediterranean one, let’s dig into the person who will be in charge of the housing emergency.

What is this new figure about

As Ursula von der Leyen presented during her speech in the Strasbourg plenary in july 18th, there will be one commissioner designated to cope with the housing issue all around Europe.

“Prices and rents are soaring… People are struggling to find affordable homes,” she remarks during the speech. “I want this Commission to support people where it matters most, and if it matters to Europeans, it matters to Europe” continues.

Ursula von der Leyen’s housing plans for her next term focus on expanding key initiatives from her first administration. Central to her strategy is the Social Climate Fund, an €86.7 billion program designed to help governments mitigate the impact of rising costs on vulnerable consumers while promoting affordable, energy-efficient housing.

She also aims to extend the New European Bauhaus initiative, which combines innovative, eco-friendly development with aesthetic design. Housing remains a rare area of consensus across the political spectrum, with broad support from the Left, Socialists, and the Netherlands’ new far-right government.

In addition to creating a dedicated housing commissioner, von der Leyen proposed revising state aid rules to make it easier for member countries to build homes.

The background

In Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, and Lisbon a lot of protest have already taken place because of the speculative opportunistic investment in houses all over the EU. Apart from that, a growing discontent coming from locals in highly touristic areas where short-term rentals is rising as well.

As for now, EU members can use public funds to build affordable housing for people who cannot buy at the market price. But a growing number of national governments argue the crisis is now affecting middle-income households, and say guidelines need to be changed so that the cash can be used to build homes for a larger part of society.

The housing crisis has deepened so much that we have heard calls from the Socialists and Democrats Group, Greens/EFA, The Left in the European Parliament, EU’s Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, mayors, and even Enrico Letta that the European Union has to incentivise socially inclusive and sustainable housing systems.