On Friday 12 December, with a view to the Transport and Energy Council and the Commission’s presentation of its ‘European Affordable Housing Plan’ on 16 December, France and Germany sent their colleagues a note setting out some of their concerns regarding the revision of the rules on State aid applicable to services of general economic interest (SGEI) and its impact on social housing.
The two countries are particularly concerned about a draft amendment to the Decision (2012/21) governing State aid granted to companies entrusted with the operation of SGEIs in the European Union, which is the result of a previous consultation (see EUROPE 13723/17, 13654/22).
An annex to the future decision will provide a detailed description of the ‘social housing’ category, already included in the 2012 decision, and the new ‘affordable housing’ category.
Austria and Croatia came out in support of the two countries at a public meeting. As the Commission presents a targeted review of the State aid rules applicable to SGEIs on 16 December, the two countries, which welcome the Commission’s efforts to tackle the current housing crisis, are asking it to take account of the diversity of situations and the multitude of local markets in this area.
The “issues surrounding social and affordable housing vary greatly from one Member State to another and, above all, have an undeniable territorial dimension. Indeed, there is no European housing market, but rather a multitude of local markets. Furthermore, the partners involved and the distribution of their responsibilities vary greatly from one State to another”, write the two countries in a public note, proposing a model annex to the Commission.
Social housing managers are also “key players in the field of energy-efficient building renovation in Europe. The actions planned as part of the ‘European Affordable Housing Plan’ that have an impact on their financing model must be carefully weighed so as not to undermine this model and to respect the principle of subsidiarity”.
The two countries are therefore already calling on the Commission to rectify certain provisions of the draft Commission decisions on services of economic interest for social housing and affordable housing. “Certain criteria established in the annex would contradict the social needs of some Member States as well as the standards adopted to address those needs. They may also undermine the economic situation of social housing providers in those Member States”.
In particular, “the requirement for social occupancy of dwellings for at least 20 years would limit the ability to adapt to changing needs within the housing stock. Likewise, the restrictive list of actions eligible for funding with public money—excluding, for example, aid for condominium owners facing difficulties—seems inappropriate”.
France and Germany are therefore asking the Commission to transform the provisions of this annex into non-binding “guidelines”, allowing Member States to continue to determine freely the specific requirements of SGEIs for social and affordable housing.
In principle, the Commission should listen to these concerns and present an adapted revision of the State aid rules on 16 December. The aim will be to protect the operation of social housing as it exists in France and Germany, while still allowing the institution to focus on new financing flexibilities for a number of so-called ‘middle class’ categories.
Link to the note: https://aeur.eu/f/jzf (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)