2013-01-26

Under the aegis of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee of the European Parliament, on the 22nd and 24th of January Green party MEP Karima Delli hosted a preparatory workshop for her report on social housing and decent housing conditions.

Experts on the subject were invited by the European Parliament’s URBAN Intergroup, European Public Health Alliance and CECODHAS HOUSING EUROPE. As shadow rapporteur on behalf of the European People’s Part, DAHR MEP Csaba Sógor plays an active part in the field.

Matthias Braubach, European Affairs Officer and coordinator of urbanization and living environment related projects of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that health is a basic human right that is strongly influenced by the environment we live in. According to WHO statistics, over 100.000 people die annually due to poor housing conditions. According to the same statistics, in 2011 55-60% of domestic budgets were spent on housing expenditure, even though this percentage should ideally be under 30%. Braubach considers thermal comfort to be another crucial health issue and a basic human right.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development analyst Charlotta Balestra presented a series of quality of life indexes and emphasized that life expectancy is not only determined by one’s level of education and that it is also influenced by the available living space. A room of one’s own guarantees higher self esteem, a healthier personal life, children who have their own room showing a higher level of intellectual performance. Balestra pointed out that every euro invested in house rehabilitation and thermal insulation can generate 16 times as much revenue, assuming we use facilities properly. The analyst gave the example of unventilated thermally insulated rooms, which can grow mildew and fungi.

Csaba Sógor congratulated the rapporteur on her initiative, and expressed his eagerness to see the document published. The DAHR MEP would make amendments to the document on behalf of the EPP group regarding the housing problems of young and elderly people and the social housing crisis.  He pointed out that there is a vast difference in social housing conditions between the member states, and that while European Structural Funds are more than welcome, they should not be used to further widen the gap, but spent where deficiencies are highest.

For more information on the activities of the above organizations see the following links:
http://urban-intergroup.eu/ ; http://www.housingeurope.eu/; http://www.epha.org/