The Diplomat
President of the Government Pedro Sánchez met this Monday with the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and the Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, to discuss the role of cities in the design and implementation of national and European housing policies.
The Prime Minister held this meeting after participating in the opening ceremony of the 40th Annual Meeting of the Cercle d’Economia, at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya in Barcelona.
The three mayors are driving forces and members of Mayors for Housing, an initiative involving 15 European cities (Barcelona, Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Athens, Bologna, Budapest, Ghent, Leipzig, Lisbon, Lyon, Warsaw, Milan, Zagreb, and Florence). The initiative aims to give cities greater decision-making power over housing and greater capacity to regulate this area, as well as access to direct funding sources for cities.
Their initiatives include a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in December 2024; the submission of proposals to the Executive Vice President and the Commissioner for Housing in February 2025; and the European Housing Action Plan, which aims to influence the European Plan for Affordable Housing, planned for 2026.
