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Barcelona Mayor Calls Housing Crisis a 'New Pandemic'

12/16/2025

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Summary

Story summary

Jaume Collboni, Barcelona's mayor, calls Europe’s rising housing costs a "new pandemic" and asks the EU to fund affordable housing.
He leads 17 mayors representing more than 20 million people, pressing for a dedicated housing fund modeled on NextGenerationEU.
Collboni warns that inaction could undermine democracy and fuel populism as EU housing prices rose 48% from 2010–2023 and about 10% spend over 40% of income.

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Story summary

Jaume Collboni, Barcelona's mayor, calls Europe’s rising housing costs a "new pandemic" and asks the EU to fund affordable housing.
He leads 17 mayors representing more than 20 million people, pressing for a dedicated housing fund modeled on NextGenerationEU.
Collboni warns that inaction could undermine democracy and fuel populism as EU housing prices rose 48% from 2010–2023 and about 10% spend over 40% of income.