Sittings · Document
DRAFT OPINION (2024/2120(INI)) 2025-03-14
On the role of cohesion policy investment in resolving the current housing crisis
Committee on Employment and Social Affairs · Rapporteur: Estrella Galán
AMENDMENTS
The Committee on Employment and Social Affairs submits the following to the Committee on Regional Development, as the committee responsible:
Amendment 1
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 on the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+)1a, ______________ 1a Regulation (EU) 2021/1057 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 establishing the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1296/2013, OJ L 231, 30.6.2021, p. 21, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2021/1057/oj. |
Or. en
Amendment 2
Motion for a resolution
Citation 8 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which entered into force for the EU on 22 January 2011 in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities1a, ______________ 1a OJ L 23, 27/01/2010, p. 35, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2010/48(1)/oj. |
Or. en
Amendment 3
Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to its resolution of 24 November 2020 on tackling homelessness rates in the EU1a, ______________ 1a OJ C 425, 20.10.2021, p. 2. |
Or. en
Amendment 4
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), proclaimed and signed by the Council, Parliament and the Commission on 17 November 2017, and the Commission communication of 4 March 2021 entitled ‘The European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan’ (COM(2021)0102) and its proposed 2030 headline targets on employment, training and reducing poverty, |
Or. en
Amendment 5
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| – having regard to the Commission communication of 7 October 2020 entitled ‘A Union of Equality: EU Roma strategic framework for equality, inclusion and participation’ (COM(2020)0620), |
Or. en
Amendment 6
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Ba. whereas in 2019, the share of income spent on housing by homeowners was 16 %, while for tenants it was 31 %; whereas, among people spending at least 40 % of their income on housing, 60 % report having difficulties making ends meet, and, among people spending less than 20 % of their income on housing, 42 % still have difficulties making ends meet; whereas private rental market tenants are in a particularly precarious situation, with 46 % feeling at risk of needing to leave their accommodation in the next three months because they can no longer afford it; |
Or. en
Amendment 7
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Bb. whereas the right to housing is enshrined in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights; whereas principle 19 of the EPSR covers ‘Housing and assistance for the homeless’, specifically stating that access to social housing or housing assistance of good quality must be provided for those in need, and that people in vulnerable situations have the right to appropriate assistance and protection against forced eviction and that adequate shelter and services must be provided to homeless people in order to promote their social inclusion; |
Or. en
Amendment 8
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Ca. whereas one of the main contributors to the net wealth disparity is changes in house prices, which drives people into housing deprivation; whereas the scarcity of affordable housing is becoming the biggest driver of inequalities in many Member States; whereas as a result, growing numbers of people in the EU struggle to access affordable housing, be it to rent or to buy; whereas people face difficulties in accessing decent and good-quality housing, tenure insecurity, increased housing cost overburden and indebtedness; |
Or. en
Amendment 9
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Cb. whereas the availability and affordability of decent housing are declining because of reasons that may differ from one Member State to another, such as over-liberalisation of the market, real estate speculation, the financialisation of housing, unregulated short-term rentals, a drop in people’s purchasing power and a lack of social and public housing, and are among the major challenges Europeans are facing today; |
Or. en
Amendment 10
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Cc. whereas 47 % of young Europeans aged 18-34 face serious difficulties in becoming independent and continue to live with their parents; whereas only 17 % of students and young people have access to student accommodation; |
Or. en
Amendment 11
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Cd. whereas the European homeless population was estimated at 1 287 000 people in 2024, of whom nearly 400 000 were minors; whereas the EU is far from reaching the target of ending homelessness by 2030; |
Or. en
Amendment 12
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Ce. whereas different people in vulnerable situations have different housing needs, such as children, women in poverty, unemployed people and those in precarious jobs, migrants, refugees, victims of human trafficking, persons with disabilities, young and elderly people, homeless people and Roma people; whereas the Commission has proposed minimum targets for 2030 to ensure progress towards Roma equality, inclusion and participation under the 10-year plan to support Roma in the EU; whereas these targets include, among others, reducing the gap in housing deprivation by at least one third; |
Or. en
Amendment 13
Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Cf. whereas the Commission now has its first-ever Commissioner responsible for tackling the housing crises, and the first-ever EU plan for affordable and sustainable housing is expected in 2025; whereas homeless children should be specifically targeted in this plan; whereas such proposals, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, need to go hand in hand with national measures in order to improve access to sustainable and affordable housing and the quality of everyday life, such as measures concerning short-stay rentals or other market interventions in highly stressed areas; |
Or. en
Amendment 14
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| Ea. whereas European funds have been used for housing projects and addressing the needs of deprived communities; whereas cohesion policy and the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) supports, complements and adds value to the policies of the Member States in order to ensure equal opportunities, equal access to the labour market, fair and high-quality working conditions, social protection and inclusion; |
Or. en
Amendment 15
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1a. Is deeply concerned by the fact that the cost-of-living crisis, combined with high inflation rates, has exacerbated a long-standing problem with housing affordability; highlights the need to address the impact of housing precariousness, housing deprivation and the invisible poverty phenomenon; |
Or. en
Amendment 16
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1b. Insists that housing policies should deliver on the principles and the headline targets set out in the EPSR and its action plan, while aligning with the highest EU social standards, social rights and democratic principles, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and fundamental human rights; |
Or. en
Amendment 17
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1c. Insists that the right to housing must be a fundamental right included in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights, at the same level as the right to education or the right to access to healthcare; stresses the need to shield access to housing as a public service, under the same conditions as other public services such as education and access to healthcare; |
Or. en
Amendment 18
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1d. Is convinced that housing policies and actions should be focused on promoting adequate public and social housing, increasing sustainable renovation of buildings, reducing vacant dwellings, limiting short-stay rentals and ensuring the protection of people in vulnerable situations; |
Or. en
Amendment 19
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 e (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 1e. Highlights that the availability of and universal free access to quality public services, such as access to adequate, affordable and decent housing, and essential services, such as affordable energy, sanitation and water, are necessary conditions for ensuring equal opportunities, improving living conditions and fighting poverty and social exclusion; recalls that public expenditure is needed to ensure upward social convergence; |
Or. en
Amendment 20
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 2a. Insists that the financialisation of housing has been enabled by a permissive regulatory framework leading to further inflation of housing prices, while prioritising profit over accessibility and affordability; calls for stronger controls over the abuse of complex financial products to protect citizens in vulnerable situations, as they do not understand the risks associated with these products or the conditions of long-term indebtedness; |
Or. en
Amendment 21
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 8a. Stresses that cohesion funds and the ESF+ should first and foremost address their own objectives; expresses its concern that they have been repeatedly used as an emergency response tool and underlines that this approach poses a risk to the longer-term policy and investment objectives of cohesion policy, as well as a risk that the people for whom cohesion policy is meant cannot be sufficiently reached; calls, therefore, on the Commission to protect and sufficiently increase the budget allocation so that it can be used for its main objectives and beneficiaries, as well as for tackling the housing crisis; |
Or. en
Amendment 22
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 8b. Notes that the current cohesion policy and the ESF+ programme were adopted before the emergence of the housing crisis and the other crises that have led to high inflation and an increased cost of living, and therefore require higher public and social investment, as the existing funds cannot meet current needs; calls, therefore, on the Commission to ensure that a comprehensive, stable and large-scale needs and rights-based budget, which takes into account the need for access to affordable housing, is guaranteed for the cohesion funds and ESF+ under the next multiannual financial framework; |
Or. en
Amendment 23
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 12a. Calls for stronger and more effective social and environmental conditionalities in public funding for affordable and sustainable housing; insists on these conditionalities being linked to the achievement of clearly defined performance targets, such as improved energy efficiency, reduced environmental impact and demonstrable social inclusion, to be verified through regular impact assessments and continuous monitoring; |
Or. en
Amendment 24
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14a. Welcomes the announcement of an EU plan for affordable housing and the launch of a pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing; shares the ambition of prioritising the tackling of the housing crisis, in line with the principle of subsidiarity, and emphasises that the post-2027 cohesion policies should enhance timely and equal access to affordable, decent, accessible, inclusive, sustainable and high-quality housing, including measures such as social and public housing and affordable rental schemes; |
Or. en
Amendment 25
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14b. Calls on the Commission and the Member States, within the framework of the next multiannual financial framework, to play a bigger role in supporting housing policies that would guarantee the right to sustainable, decent and affordable housing for all through investment and regulatory measures, including the introduction of binding objectives under the EPSR, clear earmarking of funds for renovation and the creation of new public social housing stock, specific and additional EU funding for the expansion and requalification of public housing, the fight against property speculation, and a permanent and additional flow of funding in line with the objectives of the EPSR; calls, therefore, for the EIB to expand its investments beyond social housing and energy-efficient renovations, supporting a broader range of projects that promote sustainable, well-planned and high-quality housing developments for all; |
Or. en
Amendment 26
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14c. Is deeply concerned by the high numbers of rough sleepers and people staying in night shelters and temporary accommodation, especially the number of homeless minors; considers it very unlikely that the Commission will reach the 2030 target to end homelessness in the EU; believes that all Member States must invest a sufficient amount of their cohesion resources into tackling homelessness and asks the Commission to propose a significant earmarking of funds for this; welcomes the European Platform on Combatting Homelessness; recalls its objectives agreed in the Lisbon Declaration and the Member States’ commitment to support the policy measures with adequate funding; |
Or. en
Amendment 27
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 d (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14d. Calls for the EU to work with the Member States to ensure non-discrimination in access to housing through monitoring and complaints and redress mechanisms that are effective, independent and accessible; stresses that people from non-EU migrant backgrounds are particularly at risk of housing poverty, that levels of precarious housing are especially high among migrant and refugee women and victims of human trafficking, and that those with a dependent or irregular status face the biggest challenges in accessing housing; stresses that four out of five members of the Roma community have incomes below the EU-wide poverty threshold; |
Or. en
Amendment 28
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 e (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14e. Insists that the housing needs of young people require special attention through tailored measures and policies such as support for first-time homebuyers and rent guarantees, as they face increasing barriers to accessing affordable housing; |
Or. en
Amendment 29
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 f (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14f. Stresses the need for the future cohesion policy to promote and finance accessible social housing for persons with disabilities and to tackle the challenge of homelessness among persons with disabilities; |
Or. en
Amendment 30
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 g (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 14g. Recalls that housing policies should be developed in close consultation with representatives of people in vulnerable situations, including civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations, trade unions and other stakeholders; |
Or. en
Amendment 31
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 17a. Welcomes Housing First policies for people in vulnerable situations to ensure that access to housing is guaranteed; insists that the housing offered should be independent, stable and truly unconditional on engagement with support services; |
Or. en
Amendment 32
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 b (new)
| Motion for a resolution | Amendment |
| 17b. Recalls that people in vulnerable situations have the right to appropriate assistance and protection against forced eviction; proposes that support needs to be triggered automatically when an eviction notice is issued to prevent evictions or facilitate moves to affordable homes; insists that support should be offered at an earlier stage when payment difficulties first emerge; |
Or. en
ANNEX: ENTITIES OR PERSONS FROM WHOM THE RAPPORTEUR HAS RECEIVED INPUT
The rapporteur for the opinion declares under her exclusive responsibility that she did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.