The 17th meeting of European Union ministers with responsibility for housing took place in Marseilles on Monday 24 November as part of the informal Regional Policy Council. Ministers agreed on the need for regular meetings to be able to exchange information and best practice in the area of housing. The next meeting of housing ministers will take place in the first quarter of 2010 and will be organised by Spain.

In their final conclusions, ministers say that, given what is at stake, the impact of European Union policies on national housing policies must be a point on the agenda of all future meetings of EU housing ministers. To improve follow-up and develop themes, they propose that working groups be set up on the initiative of a member state and in which the European Commission could take part. These working groups would bring together representatives of member states wishing to participate to discuss access to housing, energy efficiency and the impact of Community policies on national housing policies. On 24-25 June 2009, the Czech Presidency will host a meeting on the focal points, and Austria would like to host a similar meeting in the second half of 2009.

Ministers recommended (a) that the European Commission (1) conduct a study on the cost of housing to household budgets, and a second study on the cost of poor housing and lack of housing, (2) promote the spread within the housing sector of new technologies and building materials which use less energy, (3) strengthen research programmes to increase energy efficiency, including in existing housing, (4) provide effective follow-up to pilot projects in the social housing sector as part of the SAVE programme in order to highlight and select those projects which lead the way in energy efficiency; (b) that the Social Protection Committee develop indicators for homelessness and unfit housing, inter alia through transnational research and studies funded by the EU. This could include a series of quality indicators which define, for example, “adequate”, “decent” and “accessible” housing bearing in mind national, regional and cultural differences.

In general terms, ministers recommended that: - particular attention be paid to the situation of those who have no access to social housing and who have to live in extremely poor housing conditions: - housing be included in the reflection on towns and the sustainable development of the regions; - care be taken to ensure that people's specific needs, in particular access to quality services, are taken into account in the refurbishment and construction of housing; - energy savings, energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy be taken into account in urban construction and renovation; - possible additional costs resulting from seeking savings when housing is being refurbished do not cause any increases in housing costs for the most vulnerable.

Ministers also called for housing issues, and in particular exclusion as a result of housing and homelessness to be taken into account as part of the European Year 2010 for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. After 2010, appropriate action in the areas of exclusion resulting from housing must also be developed as part of the EU social protection and inclusion strategy, so that significant progress can be made on these issues. An EU consensus conference on homelessness is to be held to try to come to a shared understanding and joint assessment of the situation.

Thanking the French Presidency of the EU for inviting the Committee of the Regions (CoR) to attend the informal meeting in Marseilles, CoR 1st Vice-President, MP and Mayor of Dunkirk Michel Delebarre said that, in the short term, the CoR saw two major challenges for housing. First of all, at the start of 2009, there will be the returns on the consultation exercise launched by the Green Paper on Territorial Cohesion, published by the European Commission on 6 October. For the CoR, it is “of the greatest importance that European housing policy players respond to this consultation exercise and highlight the key role where the environmental, social and territorial impacts of Community policies intersect”. In particular, he went on, it was about taking account of the local impact (and hence the impact on housing) of the European Commission's main initiatives in order to ensure that any Community action is coherent. Then, 2009 will also see the review of the Monti-Kroes package on waiving notification of state aid for social housing. “This waiver was only won after a brave fight in 2005. In 2009, we will once again have to mobilise all our forces to keep this framework in place,” Delebarre said. He concluded with a message: “Local authorities are ready to defend the place of social housing on the European agenda”. He stated that “it is in their interests because of the opportunities offered by structural funds and also because of the too little regulated interference of Community law in the provision of social housing”. At the same time, he said: “There is no question of an exclusive EU-local authorities relationship on social housing. The ball is also partly in the member states' court. The CoR calls on them to make maximum use of the opportunities offered in housing by the structural funds”.

> read the full conclusions of the meeting here

(Source: Agence Europe)