Paris, Brussels, Berlin and all of Europe – what can we learn, what do we need to change?

Tid: Fredag d. 21. maj kl. 19-21
Tilmelding: kulke@transform-network.net

Transform!europe arrangerer webinar om boligpolitik.

Speakers:

Katina Schubert (Germany) is deputy chairperson of Die Linke, which is part of the regional government since 2016. Katina is also a member of the Berlin House of Representatives since 2016 and is the 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 PTB/PVDA and is the PTB Group Chair in the Brussels Regional Parliament. In this position, Françoise is currently leading the campaign for housing in the city of Brussels. Based on own legislative proposals the PTB is actively campaigning with petitions and actions in the neighbourhoods to get people involved in the fight to lower rents.

Ian Brossat (France) is spokesperson of the French Communist Party (PCF). Since 2014 Ian is also deputy mayor of Paris, where he is in charge of housing, emergency accommodation and the protection of refugees. Ian is well known since many years for his dispute with Airbnb. In his book “Airbnb la ville ubérisée”, Ian denounces the “economy of predation” that Airbnb engages in Paris.

The Corona crisis makes us all realise how important it is to have good and affordable housing. This is the only way children can concentrate on learning at home, and you can keep distance only where there is enough space.

Perhaps the right to affordable housing has never been clearer than it is today, just when so many of us are threatened by unemployment and falling wages due to the COVID crisis.

Just at this time, the German Constitutional Court ruled on 14 April 2021 that Berlin’s effective rent cap was unfortunately unconstitutional. More than one million tenants in Berlin will not only have to pay back rent, but will also have to pay permanently excessive rents again. Paris has been losing 10,000 residents a year since 2011, mainly because of horrendous rents. The majority of tenants in Brussels spend more than half of their income on housing. Since the Troika’s policy, Spanish citizens have been suffering from rising unemployment, falling wages, rising rents and burdensome mortgage payments. The good news is that Unidos Podemos in the Spanish national government has suspended evictions and is now pushing a law to reduce rents.

We warmly invite you to join us on the evening of 21 May 2021 from 7pm to 9pm (CEST) to discuss good and affordable housing and housing market challenges across Europe. The neighbourhoods in our cities must be preserved!

· What can we implement locally in our neighbourhoods and our cities?

· How can we create the necessary pressure from below to take action against Black Rock and consorts?

· What political alliances are necessary for this?

· And also: how can we strengthen the European common struggle?

We would be very happy if you discuss with us and our guests on this evening.

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 want) and also chat with each other.

The presentations will be recorded, but not the discussion.

Please register with Roland Kulke kulke@transform-network.net so that we can send you the link.

Contact: Roland Kulke, transform! europe, kulke@transform-network.net