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The Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia joins the European advocacy campaign of the Barcelona City Council on housing issues
On April 28, the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, and the President of the Federation of Municipalities of Catalonia (FMC) and Mayor of Mataró, David Bote, presented a seven-point declaration urging European institutions to urgently address the housing access problem in municipalities from a local perspective. The document was approved by the FMC General Assembly on April 25, and will now be put to a vote by the plenaries of the 653 member municipalities.
The declaration highlights the need to treat housing as a common good and a top political priority to ensure social cohesion and a dignified life for all citizens. In response, local administrations have implemented various strategies to guarantee the right to housing, such as direct public housing development, partnerships with foundations and cooperatives, and building rehabilitation.
Mayor Collboni emphasized that the housing crisis is complex and requires “bold and ambitious decisions to guarantee the right to housing”, noting that cities are “ground zero” for the crisis and must play a central role in solutions.
FMC President David Bote added that, despite lacking formal powers, municipalities have continued to act by mobilizing, promoting, and financing housing to provide solutions for residents. He called for the European Union’s involvement, as the issue affects all its territories.
The declaration also reinforces Barcelona’s European advocacy campaign on housing, including leadership in the Mayors for Housing alliance, which is preparing a European action plan to be presented in May, and the defense of a housing opinion at the Committee of the Regions, for which Collboni is rapporteur and which will be voted on May 14.
Mayors for Housing Alliance
One of Barcelona’s priorities is to guarantee the right to decent, affordable housing and to provide a public response to the housing crisis not only in Barcelona but across European cities. The city leads an alliance of mayors from fifteen European cities, aiming to develop a joint agenda that places cities at the center of EU structural housing policies. On February 20, the alliance presented the joint declaration “Key requests – Mayors for Housing” in Brussels.
The alliance includes the mayors of: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bologna, Budapest, Florence, Ghent, Leipzig, Lyon Metropole, Lisbon, Milan, Paris, Rome, Warsaw, and Zagreb.