What changed

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

P10_TA(2025)0187

on the roleRole of cohesion policy investment in resolving the current housing crisis

(2024/2120(INI))

Committee on Regional Development

PE770.013

European Parliament resolution of 10 September 2025 on the role of cohesion policy investment in resolving the current housing crisis (2024/2120(INI))

The European Parliament,

E. whereas poor planning and design in the public realm, the growth of urban sprawl and inappropriate land use have resulted in reduced building quality across Europe;

✦ Formal Replaces the decimal separator in the percentage from a point to a comma.

F. whereas the increase in the cost of living exacerbated the housing crisis in 2023, with housing costs in the EU exceeding 40 % of disposable income for 10.610,6 % of households in cities and 7 % of households in rural areas; whereas the housing cost overburden rate was very high in cities in southern and northern Member States;

G. whereas according to a Eurobarometer survey from July 2024, concerns about rising prices, the cost of living and the economic situation were the main reasons that motivated people to vote in the European elections;

U. whereas the legal uncertainties and red tape regarding EU State aid rules are a major obstacle to investing funds from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) in affordable housing, and a reform of its 2011 Decision on the Service of General Economic Interest (SGEI) should be conducted by the Commission to broaden the scope of the rules beyond social housing and to contribute to housing affordability;

✦ Formal Replaces the decimal separator in the euro amount from a point to a comma.

V. whereas EU cohesion policy (CP) funds and the EIB financing instruments are very important sources of EU investment to increase the supply of social and affordable housing in the EU and its regions, promoting integrated interventions to ensure both greater affordability of housing and social cohesion at urban and rural levels; whereas the total EU support of EUR 7.57,5 billion allocated to housing under the CP represents approximately 2 % of the total CP allocation of EUR 379 billion for the 2021-2027 period; whereas the CP alone cannot resolve the current housing crisis, as, according to the economic analysis performed for the EIB Investment Report 2024/2025, the investment gap in affordable housing is estimated at EUR 270 billion per year; whereas CP funds should be deployed strategically and with efficient and transparent procedures; whereas public funds should be complemented by attracting private investment;

W. whereas CP investment in housing should be based on a thorough assessment of the housing markets in order to avoid unintended effects, taking into account the needs of households and the thresholds of affordability, prioritising the livelihoods of the most vulnerable social groups, namely, among others, persons with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, those living in inadequate or insecure housing and people with particular needs, including women, young and elderly people, single parents, low- and middle-income workers, households and families;

25. Emphasises that access to adequate, decent and affordable housing is a fundamental social right and a prerequisite for social and economic participation and well-being, and calls for the integration of housing affordability considerations into all relevant EU employment and social policies; suggests the importance of promoting family-oriented policies; proposes the creation of a European charter clarifying the role of the national governments in the recognition and application of housing as a social right;

✦ Drops the reference to linking beneficiaries with the European Green Deal and removes the call for promoting green procurement.

26. Notes that combining and complementing ERDF-CF, ESF+ and JTF grants with EIB financial instruments can contribute to increasing the leverage effect of investments and access to finance for property developers, builders and final beneficiaries by establishing a link with the European Green Deal;beneficiaries; supports the creation of a dedicated housing facility within the structure of the EIB financial instruments; underlines, furthermore, the importance of promoting green procurement that sets environmental and social conditions; stresses that simplification of funds and transparency in the use of funds are essential for the efficient and strategic use of investments, and for a multiplier effect for financial efforts;

27. Encourages the Commission and the EIB to include strict, transparent, inclusive and fair allocation mechanisms, as well as social and sustainable conditions for the final beneficiaries of EU funds and financial instruments; stresses that a balanced approach involving both public or not-for-profit housing and private sector participation through public-private partnerships should be pursued to optimise housing stock and ensure efficient use of resources; takes the view that affordable housing programmes may include – but should not be limited to – public ownership of properties, land and buildings owned by central and local public authorities; considers, to this end, that public entities should be allowed to have access to the private sector, under the supervision of the public authorities, while also ensuring strong support for social housing providers and other not-for-profit entities engaged in the provision of affordable housing; underscores the importance of prioritising the lowest income groups that are disproportionately affected by the cost of housing;

39. Recommends the inclusion of long-term conditions for beneficiaries of CP funds for affordable housing to support the right to stay in rent-controlled areas in cities, particularly in areas experiencing housing pressure due to tourism, gentrification or investment speculation, including inner cities, islands, outermost regions and coastal areas, without unduly disadvantaging legitimate real estate activities; recommends also the exclusion of short-term speculative investors by establishing safeguards against short-term speculative acquisitions, including restrictions on rapid resale; underlines the importance of ensuring the right to stay of citizens in areas suffering from a lack of suitable and affordable housing; calls on the Commission to issue specific guidelines on how to implement and enforce this principle across EU policies; calls for stronger integration of this principle as a cross-cutting principle in all EU policies, so that they support the objectives of social, economic and territorial cohesion, as set out in Articles 3 and 174 TFEU;

✦ Formal Adds a comma after 'framework' and removes a comma before 'with'.

40. Calls on the Commission to incorporate the NEB as an autonomous programme in the 2028-2034 multiannual financial frameworkframework, ,withwith enough financial resources to incorporate the values of the NEB in the initiatives and relevant future legislation promoted by the European affordable housing strategy;

41. Recalls that CP should encourage collaboration between architects, urban planners, promoters, engineers, construction workers and other professionals to ensure a holistic approach to urban and rural development and to contribute to solving the ongoing housing crises;

42. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions and the national and regional parliaments of the Member States.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

The own-initiative report on the role of the Cohesion investments in resolving the housing crisis intends to elaborate a list of proposals from the perspective of the Cohesion Policy to tackle the problems that many EU citizens and households are facing in order to access to a decent, sustainable and affordable house across the Union.

Between 2015 and 2023, house prices in the Union rose on average by 48 %, due mainly to higher building costs and mortgage rates, a decrease in construction that limited supply and the rise in the purchase of properties as a commodity to generate additional income. Following the available sources across the EU, during the year 2023 for 10.6 % of households in cities and 7 % of households in rural areas housing costs exceeded 40 % of their disposable income.

The right to access to decent housing goes beyond the low-income population and it is a right of all citizens enshrined in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

The X Legislature at the European institutions have been marked by the commitments announced by Mrs. Ursula von der Leyen during her speech to request the Parliament’s support. In her political guidelines she recognised that ‘it is urgent to address the housing crisis facing millions of families and young people’ and proposed to support Member States in addressing the housing crises appointing a Commissioner including housing in his portfolio and launching a European Affordable Housing Plan. Among other proposals, the Commission President announced ‘as an immediate first step to inject liquidity into the market by allowing Member States to double the planned cohesion policy investments in affordable housing’.

This is why the own-initiative report is very timely when the Parliament is facing the start of the debate on the mid-term review of the current cohesion policy and on the Multiannual Financial Framework post-2027. Within this framework, the report proposes a series of measures that that Cohesion Policy can implement to increase the supply of affordable housing in the European Union

In the first place, among other proposals, this report intends to strengthen the legal framework to give legal certainty to Member States proposing a revision of the European Regional Development Fund-Cohesion Fund and the Just Transition Fund regulations to provide targeted investment support to mitigate the negative socio-economic consequences of the housing crises. Furthermore, it suggest to include new specific objectives on affordable and sustainable housing in different policy objectives in the said regulations to finance housing shortages, improve the quality of housing and ensure that all citizens have access to affordable and adequate housing.

Secondly, in view of the upcoming MFF post 2027, this report calls on the Commission and on the European Investment Bank to include a specific duration criteria involving investment in affordable and sustainable housing infrastructures in the Cohesion policy Funds.

In conclusion, in both steps, during the mid-term review or during the MFF post 2027, the European Union must ensure that housing projects benefiting from EU Funds will remain in the channel of European public housing stock.

This report seeks to guarantee that cohesion policy investments tackle the EU crisis on affordable housing, delivering on the main objectives of the Cohesion Policy as established in the Treaties (article 174 TFEU) and the principles enshrined on the Article 3 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU): to ‘promote economic, social and territorial cohesion, and solidarity among Member States’.