Increasing demand for social housing

The European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs held a discussion yesterday on social housing in the European Union. In her comment, MEP Lívia Járóka drew the attention to the increasing demand for social housing and emphasized the necessity of making use of European funds to this end.

The European Parliament's Committee on Employment and Social Affairs discussed the report on "Social housing in the European Union". In her remarks Lívia Járóka, Rapporteur of the EU strategy on Roma inclusion welcomed the report and its timing, referring to the increasing demand for social housing due to the ailing of European economies. Járóka emphasized that building social houses must be an integral part of anti-poverty strategies and also constitutes a possibility for reviving the European construction industry. According to the MEP, Member States must continue a dialogue with the construction industry in order to develop a better business environment and regulation for social housing. Járóka further urged the use of financial instruments and assistance programmes to stimulate the construction and renovation of social housing, as well as to seek ways to apply the modified European Regional Development Fund regulation in order to provide housing for marginalized communities.