Fitto on the housing crisis: “We’re working on it, but we can’t work miracles”

Brussels – On the issue of housing accessible to all, “we are working on it, but we cannot work miracles.” The Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Raffaele Fitto, wants to set the record straight. Together with members of the Special Committee on the Housing Crisis of the European Parliament, the Italian member of the EU executive intends to make distinctions he believes are necessary regarding what is not merely a problem, but much more: “affordable housing has become an emergency across Europe,” he acknowledges. At the same time, he wants it to be recognized that the issue is complex. 

First of all, Fitto points out, “housing policy is not a competence of the European Commission; it is a competence of the Member States.” This means that Brussels can act only within a limited mandate, and that, alone, places Europe in a position where it can only do what it is able to. In this regard, as far as the EU executive is concerned, the Executive Vice-President responsible for Cohesion and Reforms points out that the mid-term review of cohesion policy introduced five brand-new priorities to be funded by the Structural Funds, one of which is housing policy itself. 

Thanks to these changes, “a total of 3.3 billion euros has been redirected towards housing projects“, Fitto claims, insisting that “3.3 billion euros in just a few months is a significant achievement,” but even more important is to understand that “we cannot expect to solve the problems in just a few months, but it is important to get started, have a vision, and move forward” as best we can. Because Fitto continues, speaking of resources, with the effort to fund initiatives aimed at affordable housing, “we are working within the current budget,” a framework with resources already allocated and committed, and moreover nearing their expiry date. This also explains the limits of European action. “It must be understood that what has been done is a positive sign,” the Commissioner said. 

As regards the Commission’s own remit, Fitto assures that “within the framework of cohesion policy and its ongoing modernization process, this issue is and will remain central, as already demonstrated by the mid-term review.” Central governments and local authorities can rest assured: “We will continue to work on this issue in the future” through cohesion policy. The rest will be up to the Member States.