site.btaGovernment Approves EU Housing Policy Conference Results

At its regular meeting on Wednesday, the caretaker Council of Ministers of Bulgaria approved the results of an informal videoconference of European Union ministers responsible for housing policy, held on February 3, 2026. The meeting outlined the housing crisis as a threat to European stability, alongside geopolitical tensions and climate change.

The European Commission, with the support of the Member States, will carry out a detailed mapping of the different aspects of the problem and, by the end of 2026, will present an analysis of the available data to address the crisis. The idea is to mobilize more public and private investment in the construction of new buildings and the renovation of existing ones in order to provide affordable social housing.

Within the discussion, the majority of ministers supported the Commission’s plan, while emphasizing the need for it to respect and complement the responsibility of Member States for housing policy.

Bulgaria welcomed the Commission’s initiative to publish a European plan for affordable housing. The country gave a positive assessment of the new coordinating role of the European Commission on affordable housing issues and the effort to establish this policy as a common European objective. Accelerating construction and encouraging energy-efficient and high-quality building are also of key importance, especially for vulnerable groups and middle-income households, which increasingly face difficulties in securing adequate housing.

Bulgaria considers it necessary for the next stages to provide more clarity regarding the practical implementation of the plan. It called for greater clarity on the role of the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034 in supporting investment in social and affordable housing and ensuring complementarity between future instruments under the MFF, cohesion policy funding and financial mechanisms involving the European Investment Bank. Bulgaria stated its intention to engage constructively in further discussions.