Brussels, 27/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 26 April, the General Affairs Council adopted a regulation without debate, extending the use of financial support from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to housing for extremely poor and marginalised communities, including numerous Roma communities. Germany voted against and Hungary abstained.
The new regulation extends ERDF support for housing to the renovation of houses in rural areas and to the replacement of houses, irrespectively of the area, urban or rural. The current ERDF only allows intervention on housing in urban areas and renovation of existing houses, thereby excluding many of the poorest communities in the EU. The regulation reflects a first-reading agreement between the Council and the European Parliament.
The EU support to housing expenditure can go to a maximum of 3% of the ERDF allocation for each operational programme, so long as it does not exceed 2% of the total ERDF allocation, which is about €198.77 billion in the period 2007-2013. Member states must provide co-financing up to 50%, the co-financing rate depending on the measure.
The Council aim in extending the uses that can be made of the ERDF in housing for marginalised people is to promote the inclusion of Roma and other marginalised people by providing them with acceptable housing conditions. Currently, some 8 million EU citizens are Roma - more than the population of several member states. Many Roma live in abject poverty, without proper access to housing and other basic infrastructure. For this reason housing is a major factor in integration, the Council highlights. (G.B./transl.rt)