European Parliament: Panel on Housing Policies and Families in Europe

PANEL ON HOUSING POLICIES AND FAMILIES IN EUROPE

Putting families at the heart of Europe’s housing and urban future

Brussels, European Parliament, Room Spinelli 1H1

From 5,00 to 6,30 pm – 09 September 2026

Organized by the European Large Families Confederation (ELFAC), the European Network of Family-Friendly Municipalities, the Coalition for the Future of Cities and the Intergroup on Demography of the European Parliament

“Access to affordable housing is a serious concern for many across Europe. To tackle this issue, we need joint efforts from different sides and a wide range of measures. We are taking action to help Member States address citizens’ and mayors’ needs and market failures. Making sure there is sufficient housing available requires long-term investments. In terms of competition policy, our revision of State aid rules makes it easier for public authorities to invest in social and affordable housing.”.

Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition

“Housing is not just a commodity. It is a fundamental right. We must mobilise every euro and do everything in our power to make sure that in Europe everyone can afford a decent place to call home”.

Dan Jørgensen, Commissioner for Energy and Housing

Background 

Europe’s cities are under pressure from a set of interlocking forces — the cost and availability of housing, demographic change, tourism flows, mobility, and the wider cost of living. Families with children are among those most affected. Rising rents and the shrinking supply of suitable, affordable homes push young families out of city centres, with knock-on effects for demography, social cohesion and the long-term vitality of urban communities. Yet families are too often absent from the way urban and housing policy is framed, designed and measured.

A “family lens” — asking simply whether a city is a place where families with children are welcome, supported and able to thrive — offers a unifying way to connect housing, tourism, mobility, infrastructure and local economies. It reframes affordability not as a zero-sum dispute between sectors, but as a shared question of whether European cities remain liveable for the people who sustain them.

Why now: the Affordable Housing Act moment

The European Commission’s Affordable Housing Act is a once-in- a-cycle opportunity to embed a family and demographic perspective into EU housing policy — before legislative positions solidify. A timely, constructive conversation in the European Parliament, convened by family organisations and urban voices rather than any single industry, can help ensure that the family dimension is part of the debate from the outset.

REGISTRATION HERE

DRAFT PROGRAM

DRAFT PROGRAM

16:45 – 17:00 Welcome and accreditation

17:00 – 17:15    Opening: Raul Sanchez, secretary general of ELFAC, moderator

• Vasile Dincu, MEP Romania, Co-Chair of the Intergroup on Demography (S&D) 
• Romana Tomc, MEP Slovenia, Co-Chair of the Intergroup on Demography (PPE) 
• Paolo Inselvini, MEP Italy, Co-Chair of the Intergroup on Demography (ECR)
• Margarita de la Pisa, MEP Spain, Member of the Intergroup on Demography (PIE)

17:15 – 17:25    Families and housing in Europe: Difficulties and needs 

• Regina Maroncelli, Vice-President of ELFAC and coordinator of the network familycities.eu

17:25 – 17:35    The European Affordable Housing Plan and the families

•  Grzegorz Gajewski, Housing Task Force, European Commission

17:35 – 17:45   Local policies and housing 

• Elina Treija, Riga municipality (Latvia), Head of the Committee of Housing and Environment

17:45 – 17:55   Tourism, housing and families

• Silvia Pastor, Institutional Relations, APARTUR Barcelona (Spain)

17:55 – 18:05  Good practices on housing from companies 

• Silvia Cipelli, Piacenza (Italy), European Network of Family-Friendly Companies

18:05– 18:20   Interventions of Civil Society Organizations

• Sorcha Edwards, Secretary General of Housing Europe 
• Federico Nahuel Lazzari, Build Europe
• Attila Bohm, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer,  COFACE – Families Europe
• Other organizations

18:20 – 18:30  Conclusions

• Josianne Cutajar, Former MEP and Independent Chair of the Future of Cities Coalition