Duel between Collboni and Almeida on housing in the European Parliament

BrusselsThe housing crisis affects not only Catalonia and especially Barcelona, ​​but also Madrid and the vast majority of the main cities in Europe. For this reason, although the European institutions do not have too many powers in housing, it has been a debate that has long been taking place in Brussels. This Tuesday, the mayor of the Catalan capital, Jaume Collboni, and the mayor of the Spanish capital, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, have confronted two opposing ways of addressing this problem in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee in the European Parliament.

The Popular Party mayor has argued that it is necessary to simplify regulations and generate more building land to increase the housing supply, as well as to give more legal security to owners and tenants, especially to avoid illegal occupation. "The fight against illegal employment is one of our priorities," insisted the mayor of Madrid. In addition, Almeida has defended greater "fiscal competitiveness" to promote the construction of new homes and to encourage more owners to rent out their properties. "With these premises, Madrid will be the first city in Europe in the construction of affordable housing over the next few years," said the popular leader.

On the other hand, Collboni has shown himself to be against the deregulation advocated by his Madrid counterpart and has given the example of Some of the policies that have been implemented the Barcelona City Council. In this sense, it has opted to limit rental prices in the most tense areas, to end tourist apartments and avoid the fraud of seasonal rentals, which is used in a "fraudulent" way to avoid the caps on rental income.

The socialist mayor has also assured that Barcelona is at the "forefront" in terms of housing and, therefore, has opted to extrapolate this type of measures to other large European cities. How? He has asked the European Commission to promote legal coverage at a community level that allows other municipalities to take similar measures, even if they do not have a legal framework like the Catalan or Spanish one that protects them at a national or state level. "The European Union must respect these regulations and, since they do not exist there, allow them," Collboni has claimed.

Among others, sources from the Barcelona City Council cite the city of Rome as an example: progressive forces govern, but the country's legislation – led by Giorgia Meloni, of the extreme right – prevents it from implementing initiatives such as those that Collboni boasts of. On the other hand, the mayor of the Catalan capital has also asked that the large European cities have direct access to European funds that are destined to "achieve more affordable rents" and promote the construction of social housing.

Almeida: "The 'cocido' is like Madrid"

The mayor of the Spanish capital took advantage of his visit to the European Parliament to attend an event commemorating the International Day of Cocido Madreño, saying that it is a dish that sums up the essence of the city. "It is like Madrid: a sum of ingredients that make it greater. It is not only who is born who counts, but also who lives there," said Almeida, who, while a chotis played in the background, celebrated being surrounded by Madrid products, such as Mahou beer. "It's because we are tavern-keepers," he added.

Immediately afterwards, the leader of the PP in the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrat, explained that the cooked "It brings it home" because it reminds him of the bowl and pot meat that his grandmother used to cook for him. "Cooking breaks down borders," said the president of the Association of Chefs and Pastry Chefs of Madrid, Eduardo Casquero.