Housing investment through Cohesion Policy Conference 2021 | Housing Europe | 9 November 2021 | Online Event

The Info session will look into the ways that different regions have to use Cohesion Policy addressing the lack of affordable, adequate, accessible, energy efficient housing and resulting exclusion.

On 30 June, the legislative package of Cohesion Policy has been adopted and efforts have been made in order to help the construction of more affordable housing and just transition in the Member States such as:
• The introduction of a single rulebook that covers all 7 funds;
• Strong focus to objectives 1, smart Europe and 2, greener Europe (65% to 85% of ERDF and CF resources will be allocated to these priorities, depending on Member States’ wealth);
• 8 % of the ERDF is dedicated to sustainable urban development, and a new networking and capacity-building programme for urban authorities, the European Urban Initiative;
• The new ESF+ will focus on the challenges identified in the European Semester and take into account principles set out in the European Pillar of Social Rights.

Now the ball is on the court of the Member States who are busy to define their Partnership Agreement with the European Commission, as well as their Operational Programmes for the upcoming years.

How will they be able to use this opportunity to manage a multitude of issues they face (demographic change, growth of inequalities, inadequate housing, energy poverty or sustainable urbanisation)?

What would be the difficulty to catalyse the energy transition and the transition to a circular economy?
Lack of affordable, adequate, accessible, energy efficient housing and resulting exclusion is one of the key risks faced by our cities, regions, and societies at large. The human and economic cost of this policy failure and over-reliance on the market are becoming difficult to brush over.

The Info session will look into the ways that different regions have to use Cohesion Policy addressing this challenge. In the meantime, we will also hear about the COR on how the EU supports regions building on innovative and established approaches that work and establishing more responsible housing systems.

2021 Speakers

Sorcha Edwards
Secretary General of Housing Europe

Alison Gilliand
Member of the COR, PES, Ireland

Laurent Ghekiere
Head of EU Affairs, L'Union sociale pour l'habitat (USH), France

Edit Lakatos
Policy Officer, Housing Europe