Lisbon, July 2, 2025 (Lusa) - The mayor of Portugal's capital city, Lisbon, said on Wednesday that "it is very important for Europe to work directly with cities" on housing, and that this will be one of the proposals he will take to the advisory board set up by the European Commission.
Carlos Moedas (PSD) was appointed by the European Commission to the House Advisory Board, an advisory board dedicated to housing in Europe, which began its work on 30 June and will define a common strategy to respond to the housing crisis.
The Social Democrat, a former European commissioner, is the only mayor to be included in the House Advisory Board, where he will assume the vice-presidency.
Questioned by Lusa on the sidelines of the International Forum on Urbanism (IFoU25), which is taking place in Lisbon, Carlos Moedas said that he will bring "Lisbon's experience" to the advisory board, starting with what has been achieved thanks to the European Union (EU), namely the signing of "a €560 million contract".
The mayor of the capital is an advocate of this "ability to basically get Europe to work directly with the cities", which "often" does not happen.
This "direct link is (...) very important (...) because Europe often works with countries, but then the money does not reach the cities," said the mayor, arguing that the EU "should work more with cities and, sometimes, perhaps a little less with countries".
Lisbon will also serve as an example for the short-term rent support policies that already guarantee aid to "more or less 1,200 families," he explained, leaving the Portuguese Pavilion after participating in the opening session of IFoU25, an international forum on urban planning hosted this year by the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Lisbon, which runs until 4 July.
"There is such a great need that you can't just say you're going to build or renovate, because that takes years. It takes three years to build a block of flats, two years to rehabilitate it, and people need to pay their rent today," he recalled.
For Carlos Moedas, Lisbon is still an example of "very low-cost" rehabilitation of houses that were abandoned or closed" and of new construction, "which is necessary but takes longer".
The example of cooperatives will also be useful to show the advisory board's experts, most of whom "do not have a vision of a city and what needs to be done".
Comprising 15 members, the advisory board includes some of Europe's leading housing experts, as well as senior policy makers from several countries.
The new advisory body's mission is to define the European Commission's strategy and approach to responding to the housing crisis.
According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the new advisory board will develop a European Affordable Housing Plan, under which it will analyse all the causes of the crisis and help to deliver the necessary public and private investment.
SBR/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
