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Housing the EU Youth
A Research Briefing by the Housing Europe Observatory
Housing Europe Observatory, the Research Branch of Housing Europe inaugurates a series of research briefings under the title 'Housing in the post-2020 EU' focusing on the ways public, cooperative and social housing providers address the key societal challenges of our times.
We have put together the main housing challenges for young people across Europe, we have identified concrete case studies that can inspire work on the ground and we have compiled a set of recommendations for policy and action.
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EU Pillar of Social Rights: Writing a new chapter in the EU story? A Policy Breakfast meeting by Housing Europe at the European Committee of the Regions
At a moment when the future budget as the whole the next day of the EU as a whole is being discussed, Housing Europe initiated a debate that makes the link between the milestone of the Pillar of Social Rights and the access to EU funds in the post-2020 era. Of course, we focused part of the discussion on the provision of affordable housing, in particular from the perspective of one essentially vulnerable group when it comes to access to housing, the Youth with the presentation of our relevant research briefing.
We have put together the highlights of the debate among a line up of experts who have been shaping the EU debate over the last months. Check our Storify report of the day
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European Commission releases Country Reports. A first step in ‘the most social European Semester ever? (*)
The European Commission published on the 7th of March its analysis of the Member States' progress on their economic and social priorities, the ‘Country Reports’ for the EU 28. The country reports will underpin the Commission's upcoming country-specific recommendations later this spring.
The social dimension of the European Semester has been enriched this year by mainstreaming the priorities of the European Pillar of Social Rights, and making use of the data gathered via the Social Scoreboard to keep track of employment and social performances. Commissioner Marianne Thyssen did not hesitate calling it ‘the most social European Semester ever’. Is this really the case?
Log in on our website for more information
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Affordable housing challenges in Japan and lessons learnt from Europe
Japan seems to be in a transitional period concerning its housing market. The increasing number of vacant homes and the need for a "safety net" for vulnerable citizens are posing demanding challenges to the authorities. A delegation from the Housing Bureau at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) visited Brussels last week to draw some inspiration from the way public, cooperative and social housing providers operate in Europe.
As a follow up to a very interesting meeting between the delegation and Housing Europe Secretary General and Research Coordinator, Sorcha Edwards and Alice Pittini, we interviewed Mr. Kenji Hamamoto, Deputy Director at the Housing Bureau of the Ministry to know more about the housing reality in Japan.
Read the interview on our blog
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Tackling negative stereotypes of people living in social housing - Why the 'Benefit to Society' campaign matters
Benefit to Society is a campaign to tackle negative stereotypes of people living in social housing. It unites 30 housing organisations across England. Sarita-Marie Rehman-Wall and Catherine Little from the team behind this excellent campaign share why combating negative perception of tenants in social housing really matters.
Read more and draw inspiration on our blog
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Possible future free trade agreements and impact on housing associations
From the UK White Paper about the exit strategy, it is understood that the UK will seek to strike a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (CFTA) with the EU as a formal arrangement for the relationship between the UK and the EU. Housing Europe has produced a draft position paper that presents the core mechanism of the future agreements, makes a Comparison between different models of comprehensive free trade agreements and evaluates Which is the best option from housing associations' point of view.
Read more
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The International Union of Tenants (IUT) celebrates 10 years of work in Brussels
One of our closest partners in the Brussels scene, the International Union of Tenants (IUT) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its representation in Brussels. The IUT EU office was set up in 2008 to defend the rights of tenants towards the EU. IUT promotes the fundamental right to housing, more affordable rental housing supply, measures against energy poverty and the defense of the principle of subsidiarity in housing policy. Tenant’s rights are affected by EU regulations in various fields.
Over the course of these years, we have had close collaboration with the IUT, the highlight of which is the European Resposible Housing Awards, a unique European initiative through which tenants evaluate the work of the public, cooperative and social housing associations that provide their homes.
Check out the press release issued by the IUT to mark the occasion to find out more
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Housing Europe welcomes its new Research Assistant
Housing Europe recently welcomed Mariel Whelan as a research assistant trainee. She is a graduate of National University of Ireland, Galway, where she wrote her thesis on the Right to Housing in Ireland. Mariel is passionate about women’s rights and housing rights, and over the course of the year will be working on a series of briefings focussing on contemporary housing issues.
You may contact Mariel at research@housingeurope.eu
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Latest academic publications related to our sector
- An exploration of concepts and polices on ‘affordable housing’ in England, Italy, Poland and The Netherlands
The term ‘affordable housing’ has been rapidly gaining currency over the last decade across Europe, both in policy and research circles. While it is often used as a synonym or close relative of the term ‘social housing’, more recently it is finding its own definition and policy instruments in specific cities and countries.
However, boundaries between both concepts remain unclear. To shed light on recent developments of each of these terms, this paper presents findings from a study commissioned by the European Investment Bank, which investigated current trends in definitions, programmes and policies both in social housing and affordable housing. This paper focuses on findings for England, Italy, Poland and The Netherlands.
Findings show that affordable housing in all four countries is becoming a more distinct field, in parallel to developments in social housing. In addition, the paper describes some innovative policies undertaken to develop affordable housing solutions. The paper concludes with a reflection on scenarios for future policy developments and an agenda for further research.
Read the article by Darinka Czischke and Gerard van Bortel on the Journal of Housing and the Built Environment
- New Developments in Southern European Housing
 This volume provides a detailed overview of new developments in the housing policy and governance sector in southern Europe following the financial crisis and the burst of the housing bubble. The contributions collected in this volume touch on changes such as immigration and the movement of people, the financial and economic crisis and new poverties, urban changes such as the degradation of public tenures, social movements, and touristification.
Find the Pisa University Press publication curated by Elena Bargelli and Thorsten Heitkamp
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Study: State aid and Cohesion Policy
European Union funding co-managed by national authorities is a form of state resource that has to respect rules on state aid. Compliance with both state aid and Structural Funds’ rules appears to be problematic. This study by the European Parliament Think Tank for the Commmittee for Regional Development identifies the relevant issues in the interface between these two sets of rules and makes proposals to facilitate compliance.
You may read and download the study here
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Sustainable Housing for Inclusive and Cohesive Cities
A new European project sheds light on the added value of Community Land Trusts. Housing Europe, as an associate partner, introduces ‘Sustainable Housing for Inclusive and Cohesive Cities’ (SHICC) that was launched in January with support from the Interreg North-West Europe.
The project seeks to support the establishment of more successful CLTs in cities across the NWE region. Over the three-year project, it will invest in four existing pilot CLTs in Brussels, Ghent, Lille and London to ‘prove the concept’, create a supportive local, regional and national policy, funding and regulatory environment for CLTs and build a movement across the region.
Read more
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H2020 event: "Crises in the European Union" | An ENLIGHTEN-TransCrisis policy debate
20 March 2018, Fondation Universitaire, 11, Rue Egmont 1000, Brussels
The ENLIGHTEN- Housing Europe is a partner- and TransCrisis research consortia host a one day conference on the theme ‘Crises in the European Union’. The conference brings together keynotes and panel discussions that build on these two H2020 sponsored research projects.
The conference will explore what defines and distinguishes crises; how the EU institutions have adapted to recent challenges; whether policy backsliding has occurred since the crisis; and whether certain policy blind spots in managing crises have remained or have emerged.
Find out more and register
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New Horizon 2020 Calls on circular and regenerative cities (*)
New calls are now open within the framework of Horizon 2020, focusing on circular and regenerative cities. Topics range from international cooperation on sustainable urbanisation: nature-based solutions for restoration and rehabilitation of urban ecosystems to Visionary and integrated solutions to improve well-being and health in cities.
Log in on our portal dedicated to EU funding opportunities to find out more
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Countdown to Tallinn has started! Get ready for 3 days of events including our Annual Conference & General Assembly 2018 | 6-8 June in Tallinn
Housing Europe will be celebrating its 30th anniversary with a number of events the secretariat has been working on along with the team of EKYL that will be hosting us in Tallinn in June, marking also 100 years since the establishment of the Republic of Estonia.
Visit our website to find an overview of our 3-day itinerary in Tallinn, 6-8 June. including the second meeting of our Ad-Hoc Working Group in support to countries with housing systems in transition, our annual international conference and the General Assembly 2018. Please make sure that you register in time and most importantly that you book your hotels by April 20th.
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