Collboni colla Junts to promote the 30% reform now

BarcelonaJaume Collboni wants 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 (Economy 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 for Tuesday the 2nd. "especially" in 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 and "especially" Junts already have the municipal government's proposal to change the regulations on the table. A proposal that, among other aspects, involves allowing 30% of social housing not to be built as it has been up to now in the same building but on a nearby property.

With the support of the Comuns (Unins) ruled out - 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 junteros (Junters), with whom they have an absolute majority in the plenary session. Although the executive has not yet closed the door to 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 broadest possible consensus, but obviously, beyond the broadest 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. The mayor of Barcelona made this announcement during a roundtable discussion with his Parisian counterpart, Anne Hidalgo, who had previously defended the merits of the 30% housing reserve that has been in place in Paris for over a decade, despite the fact that it was also a controversial measure at the outset.

During the conversation, both advocated with business leaders for the need to regulate the housing market to limit rental prices, as well as to address issues 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.

Petition in Europe

He cry of alarm The protests that fifteen major European cities have been making for months regarding the housing crisis have gained a new voice this Monday. The President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, met this Monday in Barcelona with the mayor of the Catalan capital, Jaume Collboni, and his counterparts from Paris and Rome, Anne Hidalgo and Roberto Gualtieri, taking advantage of the 40th Annual Meeting of the Economic Circle. A meeting in which the Spanish President supported the demands of major European cities, which have long asked Brussels for policies to facilitate citizens' access to housing.

Among the demands that the mayors of these major cities are making in Brussels is the relaxation of fiscal rules. That is, that investments in housing not be counted when calculating the deficit of Member States, which must be a maximum of 3%. In this way, state, regional, and municipal administrations would have free rein in financing housing and would not be limited by the tax rules imposed by Brussels.

Along the same lines, these cities are urging Brussels to expand its housing budget and, among other measures, are asking for municipalities to have "direct access" to European funds so they can allocate them to the construction of "social and affordable" housing. This Monday, in statements to reporters, Collboni emphasized this request: "It's a fundamental point," she said. Next week, these mayors will present their housing plan to Brussels.

The mayor of Paris stressed that housing policies are central to combating inequalities and argued that direct access to European funds by municipalities should also boost the construction sector. In this regard, she emphasized the importance of a coalition between European institutions, state governments, cities, and the private sector. Gualtieri, for his part, thanked Collboni for her leadership role in this "crucial" debate for the future of Europe.