Collboni colla Junts to promote the 30% reform now

BarcelonaJaume Collboni aims to reach the halfway point of his term with one of his main campaign promises on track. During a roundtable discussion with the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, this Monday at the 40th Annual Meeting of the Círculo de Economía (Economic Circle), the Mayor of Barcelona announced that he would like to bring the initial approval of the reform of the 30% reserve for social housing to the next City Council urban planning committee, scheduled for Tuesday the 20th. A goal for which he has asked for the support of ERC (Republican Left) and "especially" Junts (Junts).

In front of the main representatives of the country's economic and business sectors, the Mayor has put pressure on Carles Puigdemont's party to help him unblock a reform that has been stalled for some time. As he explained, ERC (Republican Left) and "especially" Junts (Junts) already have the municipal government's proposal to change the regulations on the table. A proposal that, among other aspects, implies allowing 30% of social housing not to be built as until now in the same building but to be built on a nearby property.

Having ruled out the support of the Comuns (Commons) – refractory to any type of change in the regulations –, the municipal government faced the challenge of getting Junts and ERC to agree and push through the reform with the consensus of three parties or settle for the support of the councilors, with whom they have an absolute majority in the plenary session. Although the executive has not yet closed the door on obtaining the votes of the Republicans, from the mayor's words on Monday it is clear that the priority is to approve it even if it is only with Junts.

In a interview In the recent clash with the ARA party, the first deputy mayor, Laia Bonet, had already opened the door to pushing through the reform, even with the support of a single party other than the PSC. "We cannot afford not to modify the 30%. We are trying to achieve the greatest possible consensus, but obviously, beyond the maximum possible consensus, there will be a need to modify the 30%," she noted.

The municipal government's talks with the groups, however, remain open. However, Collboni expressed confidence that "the dialogue will bear fruit" in order to bring the reform "if possible to the next" urban planning commission. Junts' first reaction came through its national spokesperson and Barcelona City Council member, Josep Rius, who said that "Collboni cannot be trusted" and reproached the mayor for asking Junts for help after thwarting Xavier Trias's rise to power with the votes of the Comuns and PP.

Last February Junts tied its votes by 30% to one package A broader range of housing measures. These include a 4% reduction in property tax and new purchase and rental assistance. Sources within the municipal group explain to ARA that they are still awaiting a response from the municipal government.

The mayor of Barcelona made this announcement during a roundtable discussion with his Parisian counterpart, Anne Hidalgo, who had previously defended the benefits of the 30% housing reserve, which has been in place in Paris for over a decade despite initially being a controversial measure.

During the conversation, both reiterated to business leaders the need to regulate the housing market to limit rental prices, as well as phenomena such as tourist apartments and the seasonal market. "Are we resigned to the fact that only the rich can live in the city center?" asked Collboni, who defended the importance of "changing the rules of the game" so that "the children of the middle and working classes" can also live in major European cities.

When asked if the elimination of all tourist apartments in the city by 2028 could harm Barcelona's tourist appeal, Collboni expressed his conviction that hotels—both those still allowed to open in non-stressed areas of the city and in the rest of the metro area—would be better off staying.

Petition in Europe

Both Collboni and Hidalgo also called for a more active role for the European Union in addressing housing problems in large cities. This morning, together with the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, they had already secured the support of Spanish President Pedro Sánchez for the demands that fifteen European capitals are making in Brussels to address the housing crisis.

These demands include a relaxation of fiscal rules—that investments in housing not be counted when calculating Member States' deficits, which must be a maximum of 3%—and an increase in the budget Brussels allocates to housing so that municipalities have "direct access" to "social and affordable" housing.