On 9 April, the Construction 2050 Alliance held the event Call for action: Delivering housing solutions organised together with the Urban Intergroup at the European Parliament to address the critical housing crisis gripping Europe.

With the European construction industry boasting more than 5 million companies, 25 million employees, and contributing 10,3% to the EU’s GDP, the key-role of the construction sector has never been more important in delivering the green, competitive, and inclusive transition of the built environment, but suffers from a severe decline in demand.

On 13 December,  the Construction 2050 Alliance had released its Call and commitment for the new European Union political term (available here), reminding how fundamental the construction industry is to the people-economy-climate triangle, and therefore to the competitiveness of the EU.

However, in the current socio-economic climate marked by higher mortgage rates, inflation, and supply chain disruptions, new housing construction has significantly slowed down and required a specific focus. Reason why the Alliance has developed an Open letter to alert on the critical situation in housing and new built in Europe.

Indeed, Member States are increasingly facing severe housing shortages, with housebuilding declining in most EU countries. In this context, the construction ecosystem is committed to promoting solutions to fostering access to quality, affordable and sustainable homes for all European citizens. However, challenges persist in ensuring the provision of homes while adhering to environmental objectives.

The event was the perfect occasion for taking stock of these challenges and opportunities and raising awareness and promoting further collaborative efforts between EU institutions and Member States to establish favorable conditions for accelerating the delivery of new housing.

After an introduction by MEP Jan Olbrycht (EPP, Poland), chair of the Urban Intergroup, and a presentation of the Construction 2050 Alliance Open letter, a panel session followed with the Steering group of the Alliance, including Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General of Housing Europe, Domenico Campogrande, Director General of FIEC, Fernando Sigchos Jiménez, Secretary General of EBC, Emmanuelle Causse, Secretary General of UIPI, and Christophe Sykes, Director General of Construction Products Europe and the full room audience on key areas of focus to properly address the above-mentioned challenges including assessing the impact of EU policies on construction costs, housing affordability, land access, lending practices and regulatory frameworks.

As a Member of the Construction 2050 Alliance, Cerame-Unie applauds this initiative and the open letter on the critical housing & built environment crisis in Europe.

To consult the full Open letter of the Construction 2050 Alliance on the housing crisis click here.