European Economic and Social Committee calls for housing for all

A seminar held in Warsaw under the auspices of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union stressed the need to provide all European people with access to decent, sustainable and affordable housing

‘Housing for all’ is the watchword highlighted at the seminar organised by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on 6 March 2025 in Warsaw, in cooperation with Poland’s European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) and Korczak University.

Convened by the Section for Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN) and its Permanent Group on Services of General Interest, the event provided a platform for speakers and attendees to share experiences and best practices and stressed that housing in Europe should be social, affordable and accessible.

The seminar discussed the role of quality services of general interest in meeting needs in the field of housing and focused on specific categories of households that are unable to meet their housing needs at market conditions in urban or rural areas.

Housing is a public good and is important for finding opportunities in society

Housing is key in people’s lives and cannot be considered a privilege. According to the Committee, which adopted the opinion Social housing in the EU - decent, sustainable and affordable in its first ever Housing Forum last December, it should be seen as a fundamental right.

Following up on the EESC recommendations for sustainable, affordable and decent housing, which were published soon after the adoption of the opinion, Krzysztof Stanisław Balon, Vice-President of the EESC’s Civil Society Organisations’ Group and member of the EESC’s Permanent Group on Services of General Interest, emphasised that housing was a public good and called on the EU to act quickly and urgently to get Europe out of the housing crisis.

In this vein, Mateusz Szymanski, member of the EESC’s Permanent Group on Services of General Interest and member of the study group for the EESC opinion, added that housing should not be seen as a product like any other, where the laws of the market operate freely. He urged public authorities to be more active in the housing market and so reduce pressure on people by investing in social housing and helping those in need to rent and buy a home.

Professor Mirosław Grewiński, Rector of Korczak University, said that it was a mistake to consider housing as a private matter. He stressed that housing was instead a public matter and that it was important to make it more social, especially for young people and vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities, who often found housing inaccessible.

In a letter, Katarzyna Nowakowska, Poland’s Deputy Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy, wrote that housing policy was a key element of social policy because access to housing was more than just having a roof over one’s head; it was the foundation of a stable life, security and opportunities for development. This was all the more true for people in more challenging life situations, such as older people, persons with disabilities, families with children and individuals experiencing homelessness, for whom it was vital to have supportive housing, which combined a safe place to live with appropriate social assistance.

On this matter, Ryszard Szarfenberg, Professor at the University of Warsaw and President of the Polish Committee of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN), moderated a panel session with high-level representatives of several Polish civil society organisations on the legal and practical aspects of providing housing services to people with particular needs.

Looking to the future: the European Affordable Housing Plan and the European Strategy for Housing Construction

In order to tackle the housing crisis effectively, a wide range of actors must be involved in a coordinated effort: public authorities, private investors and social economy actors. At the same time, it is important to establish flexible financing mechanisms, supportive legal frameworks and well-targeted policy measures.

Agnieszka Maj from the Warsaw Centre for Social and Economic Research (CASE) said that to ensure affordability, sustainability and long-term stability, housing must be seen as essential social infrastructure, much like healthcare and education. This means expanding public-private-social partnerships and supporting non-market housing models that provide secure, affordable homes to those most in need.

Ms Maj went on to describe the pilot scheme of social rental agencies in the Polish town of Dąbrowa Górnicza, which served as a tool complementing existing housing policies and bridging the gap between private landlords and tenants in need.

Housing remains a primary responsibility of national governments and local authorities, and for this reason the European Commission’s future efforts will focus on finding the best ways of supporting Member States.

The European Affordable Housing Plan, expected to be published in early 2026, will be the next step and will include actions to facilitate Member States’ housing policies, such as increasing cohesion funding for housing. In addition, in order to support housing supply, the Commission is planning to establish a new European Strategy for Housing Construction and to tackle the systemic issue relating to short-term accommodation rentals.