Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Madrid, and all of Europe – what can we learn, what do we need to change?
The need for affordable housing has perhaps never been more obvious than it is today, as the number of people threatened by unemployment and falling wages due to the Covid-crisis continues to increase.
Precisely at this time, the German Constitutional Court ruled on 14 April 2021 that the law passed by the city of Berlin to limit rents in the housing sector (“rent cap”) was unconstitutional. More than one million tenants in Berlin will not only have to pay back rent but will also have to pay excessive rents again. Paris has been losing 10,000 residents a year since 2011, mainly because of exorbitant rents. The majority of tenants in Brussels spend more than half of their income on housing. Since the adoption of the Troika’s policy, Spanish citizens have been suffering from falling wages, rising unemployment, rising rents, and burdensome mortgage payments. The good news is that on the initiative of Unidos Podemos the Spanish national government has suspended evictions and is now pushing for a law to reduce rents.
Speakers:
Katina Schubert (Germany) is deputy chairperson of Die Linke, which has been part of the regional government in Berlin since 2016. She is also a member of the Berlin House of Representatives and regional chair of the Berlin branch of Die Linke. Katina is one of the leading figures in Germany in the struggle for affordable housing.
Françoise De Smedt (Belgium) is a member of the Belgian left-wing PTB/PVDA and its Group Chair in the Brussels Regional Parliament. In this capacity, Françoise is currently leading the campaign for housing in the city of Brussels. Based on its own legislative proposals the PTB is actively campaigning with petitions and actions in the neighbourhoods to involve people in the struggle for lower rents.
Ian Brossat (France) is spokesperson of the French Communist Party (PCF). Since 2014 he is also deputy mayor of Paris, where he is in charge of housing, emergency accommodation, and the protection of refugees. Ian has been well known for many years now for his dispute with Airbnb, the subject of his book Airbnb : la ville ubérisée.
Mauricio Valiente (Spain) is lawyer, activist and politician. Mauricio is a member of the United Left (IU) and the Spanish Communist Party (PCE). He is the former Deputy Mayor of the Madrid City Council.
We invite you to join us in our webinar to discuss the questions:
- What can we implement locally in our neighbourhoods and our cities?
- How can we create the necessary pressure from below to take action against investment companies like Black Rock?
- What political alliances are necessary for this?
- How can we strengthen the common European struggle?
21 May 2021
19:00 – 21:00 (CET)
Interpretation:
English, Spanish, French, and German
We will hold the event in ‘meeting format’ at Zoom, which means that you can switch on the camera and microphone. This way we can see each other (if you wish) and also chat with each other. The presentations will be recorded, but not the discussion.
Please forward this invitation to other interested parties.
Organised by transform! europe