The European Council of Engineers Chambers (ECEC) and the European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE) are pleased to present their jointly issued policy paper:
“A European Engineering Vision for Affordable, Safe and Sustainable Housing”
This joint paper addresses one of Europe’s most pressing challenges — the growing shortage of affordable and adequate housing — by framing housing as a fundamental public good and a pillar of social cohesion, economic stability, public safety, and long-term resilience. It offers an engineering-driven perspective to support ongoing European and national efforts on housing affordability, urban regeneration, climate adaptation, and sustainability.
ECCE and ECEC strongly advocate for a coordinated European approach to housing policy that unites:
- Affordability with structural safety, robustness, and durability;
- Sustainability with whole-life performance and adaptive reuse; and
- Innovation through industrialised and modular construction, underpinned by harmonised standards, quality assurance, and professional competence.
The paper calls for the systematic involvement of engineers, architects, and urban planners in the design and delivery of housing policies, funding schemes, and regulatory frameworks — ensuring that affordability is never achieved at the expense of safety, resilience, or human-centred quality.
In this context, ECEC and ECCE invite EU institutions, Commissioners, Members of the European and national Parliaments, and relevant Ministries to:
- Integrate the paper’s recommendations into forthcoming legislation, funding instruments, and housing programmes;
- Support the inclusion of resilience, structural safety, and long-term serviceability in European housing strategies; and
- Promote regulatory coherence and cross-disciplinary collaboration that foster innovation while safeguarding the public interest.
Both organisations stand ready to contribute their technical expertise and professional insight to policy dialogues, expert consultations, and strategic initiatives at European and national levels.
We kindly encourage you to share this policy paper within your professional networks and with other stakeholders engaged in the housing sector, to broaden awareness and foster collective action.
ECCE and ECEC would be delighted to further discuss the contents and implementation of this paper, and both Presidents remain available for any follow-up exchange or clarification.
