Nina Drazin Lovrec, President of the European Council of Engineers Chambers (ECEC), and Platonas Stylianou, President of the European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE) jointly signed a Declaration on the Conclusions of the Roundtable “How to Build Better” – Delivering Affordable, Safe, and Sustainable Housing in Europe with Nicolina Brnjac, Member of the European Parliament and the European People’s Party (EPP) coordinator in the Housing Crisis Committee (HOUS), where:
Participants of the Roundtable, hosted by MEP Nikolina Brnjac on April 21, 2026, in cooperation with the European Council of Engineers Chambers (ECEC) and the European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE)
I. On the Context and Urgency of the Housing Crisis
- Express deep concern regarding the escalating housing crisis in the Union, noting that housing prices have increased by over 60% since 2013, significantly outpacing household income growth.
- Highlight the critical supply shortage, evidenced by a 22% decline in building permits since 2021, and emphasize the gap of 650,000 additional units required annually to meet demand.
- Note with alarm that more than 1 million people remain homeless across Europe and that approximately 20% of the existing housing stock is currently underutilised, representing a significant latent resource.
- Acknowledge the strategic importance of the European Affordable Housing Plan as a framework to mobilise the estimated €150 billion in annual investment required over the next decade.
II. Housing as a Strategic Priority and Critical Infrastructure
- Maintain the position that housing must be treated as a strategic European priority, comparable to energy or transport systems, requiring long-term planning and coordinated governance.
- Reaffirm the “No Trade-Offs” principle, stressing that affordability must not be achieved at the expense of safety, resilience, or sustainability; these four dimensions must be delivered as an integrated whole.
- Call for strengthened political commitment to remove administrative and regulatory barriers that currently hinder the large-scale implementation of housing policies.
III. The Engineering Contribution and Technical Solutions
- Welcome the practical roadmap presented by ECEC and ECCE as outlined in the Policy Paper “A European Engineering Vision for Affordable, Safe and Sustainable Housing”, which establishes engineers as key enablers of delivery, bridging the gap between high-level policy and on-the-ground implementation.
- Underline the necessity of implementing industrialised and modular construction methods as key tools to accelerate delivery, enhance quality, and reduce costs.
- Support the prioritisation of adaptive reuse of the underutilised building stock to optimize resources, minimize environmental impact, and provide immediate housing solutions.
IV. Strategic Recommendations and Way Forward
- Recommend the establishment of a European Housing Resilience Framework to integrate safety, climate risks, and long-term performance into housing policies.
- Urge the simplification and acceleration of planning and permitting procedures, alongside the harmonization of technical standards across Member States to improve sectoral efficiency.
- Stress the importance of a structured partnership between policymakers and the engineering community to ensure that all measures are technically sound, buildable, and scalable.
V. Joint Commitment
- The participants reaffirm their commitment to advancing a coordinated European approach to housing, strengthening cooperation between institutions and technical experts to deliver high-quality, safe, and affordable housing for all citizens without delay.
Related Documents and Articles.
Joint Declaration on the conclusions of the Roundtable “How to Build Better” – Delivering Affordable, Safe, and Sustainable Housing in Europe
ECEC-ECCE Policy Paper: A European Engineering Vision for Affordable, Safe and Sustainable Housing