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The Government of Spain supports Mayors for Housing, the alliance of European mayors for housing led by Barcelona
The Mayors for Housing alliance, driven by Barcelona and that brings together mayors from 15 European cities who are calling on European institutions for urgent action on housing, received the backing of President Pedro Sánchez during a meeting with the mayors of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni; Rome, Roberto Gualtieri; and Paris, Anne Hidalgo, at the Cercle d’Economia 2025 conference held in Barcelona on May 5.
During the meeting, the city leaders explained to Sánchez the creation of the alliance and their main demands: to enhance the role of cities in shaping the EU’s housing agenda by being actively involved in policy design; to ensure effective access to European funds through direct management by cities; to increase investment opportunities in housing, such as excluding investments in affordable housing from EU deficit and debt limits, similar to what is being considered for defense spending.
Other requests include allowing greater investment in social and affordable housing, integrating equity and social cohesion into energy transition programs, and regulating short-term rentals.
Mayor Jaume Collboni thanked President Sánchez for his strong support and reiterated that “this must be the European housing mandate” because “we cannot forget the need and urgency to adopt a European housing policy that meets citizens’ expectations.” Collboni also stressed that “cities need more tools to take more and better measures in different areas” and warned that “social unrest caused by difficulties in accessing housing can threaten the legitimacy of our institutions and the European project”.
An alliance to make access to housing a European priority
Mayors for Housing currently includes the mayors of 15 cities calling on the EU to prioritize actions to address the housing crisis, especially now that, for the first time, there is a European Commissioner for Housing. The cities are: Barcelona, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Athens, Bologna, Budapest, Ghent, Leipzig, Lisbon, Lyon Metropole, Warsaw, Milan, Zagreb, and Florence.
In February, the alliance presented a joint six-point declaration in Brussels, and on May 15, will unveil the European Action Plan for Housing in the same city, detailing concrete proposals aimed at influencing the Affordable Housing Plan that the Commission will present in 2026.
Cercle d’Economia Conference
Jaume Collboni also participated in the opening of the Cercle d’Economia Conference, which this year is titled “Europe, wake-up call? How to respond in a moment of geopolitical disruption,” and took part in the roundtable “The challenge of access to housing in major European cities” with Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris.
On the occasion of the Cercle d’Economia Conference, Collboni met with the Executive Vice-President for a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, and the Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness of the European Commission, Roxana Mînzatu.
