Athens Mayor Haris Doukas met visiting European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jørgensen on Friday, urging bold EU action on housing issues. According to an Athens municipality announcement, the meeting was held at the European Commission's Representation in Athens.
The mayor highlighting the worsening problem of affordable housing, especially for vulnerable groups and presented the municipality's seven-point plan for addressing this issue.
Jørgensen praised the proposals as "constructive" and said he would include them in drawing up a EU affordable housing plan.
Doukas also signed a proposal supported by another 15 European cities for a European Affordable Housing Fund with an investment target of 300 billion euros, of which 100 billion euros will be grants and subsidies.
This calls for immediate access to funding, exempting investments in housing from the calculation of debt and deficits and using 'green' bonds to support housing.
"The crisis is real, constantly worsening and horizontal. The answer cannot be other than coordinated, bold and, above all, European," Doukas said.
Jørgensen said the meeting with Doukas was "constructive" and useful, noting that Athens faced many of the same challenges as other European cities but was "very active in resolving them" and had valuable advice to give.
"You have proposals that you wish to submit to the European Commission regarding financing and other measures," he said, adding that the would take them ino account.
According to the latest figures released by the Athens municipality, rents in Attica have risen up to 20% in the first half of 2025, while the rise in property prices between 2017-2024 was nearly 90%.
An estimated 52% of renters spend 30% of the income on rent, while 33% of residences in Greece is empty, with 526,000 uninhabited properties in Attica alone.