Europe’s housing costs akin to ‘new pandemic’, warns Barcelona mayor
The soaring cost of housing is akin to a “new pandemic” sweeping across Europe, the mayor of Barcelona has said, as he and 16 other city leaders urged the EU to respond to the crisis by unleashing billions in funding for the hardest-hit areas.The EU is expected to present its first-ever housing plan on Tuesday, after consultations with experts, stakeholders and the public.For months, those on the frontlines of the crisis have warned the problem is too big to ignore.“The new pandemic affecting European cities is called the cost of housing,” said Jaume Collboni, the mayor of Barcelona, who launched the Mayors for Housing alliance last year with the support of his counterparts in Paris and Rome.“And in the face of this new pandemic, European institutions – as they did with Covid – must allocate extraordinary funds to promote the construction of affordable housing for young people, working families and the urban middle classes.
”For the past year, the alliance – whose 17 mayors represent more than 20 million people – has been calling on the EU to do more to address what they describe as a “social emergency”: the rocketing cost of property and rents, which they say has sown inequality, strained the social fabric and, in some cases, contributed to support for the far right.In October, after a sustained campaign of letter-writing and meetings with senior EU officials, the alliance welcomed the fact that housing policy – an area the EU has traditionally stayed out of – was firmly on the bloc’s agenda.“Now that has to translate into resources,” Collboni said in an interview.From Athens to Amsterdam, and Bologna to Budapest, the mayors are calling on the EU to launch an affordable housing fund, similar to the Covid-era NextGenerationEU programme, to help mobilise at least €300bn a year in public and private investment to bolster social and affordable housing.They also want the bloc’s officials to draw on their local experience by giving them a seat at the decision-making table.
House prices across the EU have soared by 48% between 2010 and 2023, according to Eurostat, while rents increased 22% over the same period.By 2023, nearly one in 10 people were spending 40% or more of their disposable income on housing, including 29% of the population in Greece, 15% in Denmark and 13% in Germany.Collboni described the housing crisis as an unprecedented internal threat to the bloc, warning that failure to address it adequately could lead people to question whether democracies were capable of solving their biggest problems.“In the same way that the war in Ukraine and the threat from Russia are always explained as a fundamental challenge to European values and democracies, so is the cost of housing,” he said.“So it needs to be given the same priority.
”In October, the EU’s first housing commissioner, Dan Jørgensen, said the EU executive was preparing to tackle the “huge problem” of short-term rentals.In Barcelona, where the average price of a home has soared by nearly 70% in the past decade, forcing some out of the city and leaving others grappling with disproportionate costs, Collboni was in no doubt about the role the EU and its institutions must play in addressing the crisis.He said: “When it comes down to it, we’re defending the right to stay in our city.These institutions, which for 40 to 50 years have been guaranteeing the right of movement for capital and people, now have to help us guarantee the right to stay.”Failure to do so, he warned, risked ceding ground to populists who were seeking to exploit public discontent by scapegoating rather than offering workable solutions.
“We cannot remain stuck in the rhetoric of defending democracy, inclusive societies and equal opportunities if people’s standard of living is getting worse,” Collboni said.“If even with a stable job and a stable salary people cannot live with a minimum level of normalcy, then the discourse falls apart.”
UK and South Korea sign new trade deal aimed at cars, salmon and Guinness
The UK has signed a new trade deal with South Korea designed to increase exports of cars, Scottish salmon and Guinness canned in Britain.Keir Starmer described the deal, which replaces an existing agreement, as “a huge win for British business and working people”. It follows UK deals with India and the US, and the free trade agreement with the EU clinched this year.Existing trade between the UK and South Korea is worth more than £15bn a year under a 2019 post-Brexit arrangement. The new deal covers the exports of services, automotive, pharmaceutical and food and drink, and would bring an extra £400m a year to the British economy, the UK government said
Morrisons becomes first UK supermarket to delay net zero targets
Morrisons has become the first UK supermarket chain to postpone its net zero carbon emission targets, delaying them by 15 years to 2050.Britain’s fifth-biggest grocer said its new targets would cover the entire supply chain, as well as Morrisons stores, including emissions from agriculture and land-use sources.The Bradford-based company said it had achieved a 22% reduction in total carbon emissions since 2019 – its baseline – through operational changes, energy-efficiency projects, lower-carbon logistics and collaboration with its suppliers.Morrisons denied the changes were a watering down of its targets.Andrew Edlin, head of sustainability at the chain, said: “The validation of these targets reaffirms Morrisons’ commitment to sustainability and the move to a 2050 target across the full value chain is a big step forward in our journey to net zero
The big quarrels over the workers’ rights bill have barely started | Nils Pratley
Will the employment rights bill be passed by Christmas? Well, the chances are slightly improved after six leading business groups published a temperature-lowering letter on Monday that said parliament, which in this instance means the blockers in the House of Lords, should get on with it.The employers, note, are still unhappy about the issue that triggered the most recent revolt by Conservative peers and a few cross-benchers: the removal of a cap on compensation claims for unfair dismissal. But they’re more worried that further delays would jeopardise their negotiating victory last month, namely the government’s U-turn on rights guaranteeing workers protection against unfair dismissal from day one of employment. A six-month qualifying period was adopted instead, with the blessing of the TUC, which was similarly motivated by trying to get the bill over the line quickly.The Lords is still free to object and add amendments again, of course
UK house prices tipped to rise by up to 4% in 2026 as affordability improves – as it happened
Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.With the year almost over, thoughts are lightly turning to what might happen in 2026.And lender Nationwide is predicting that UK house prices will climb by up to 4% next year, as getting onto the housing ladder becomes slightly less difficult.In their Outlook for 2026, Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner predicts that lower borrowing costs could help the market in the 12 months ahead, saying:“Looking ahead, we expect housing market activity to strengthen a little further as affordability improves gradually (as it has been in recent quarters) via income growth outpacing house price growth and a further modest decline in interest rates.We expect annual house price growth to remain broadly in the 2 to 4% range next year
Brighton’s struggling independent stores: ‘The nation of shopkeepers will go on the dole’
City’s small shops are reaching tipping point amid higher business rates, staff costs and big chains eager to move inIt’s lunchtime at Dormitory, an independent bedlinen store on Gloucester Road in Brighton, and proprietors Sue Graham and Cathy Marriott are peering across the street at the Brighton Sausage Co. They can tell when shoppers have stayed indoors by the number of sausage rolls left in the window. It’s a Tuesday before Christmas – supposedly the busiest time of the year. But there’s still a big pile remaining.“In 10 years’ time, we’re all going to be going, ‘We need shops
Roomba maker iRobot bought by Chinese supplier after filing for bankruptcy
The US company behind the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner has filed for bankruptcy protection and agreed to be taken over by one of its Chinese suppliers.iRobot, which is best known for debuting the Roomba vacuum cleaner in the early 2000s, will be taken over by a subsidiary of its main supplier, Picea Robotics.The Roomba maker, which is listed in the US, said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware as part of a restructuring agreement with Picea.iRobot’s earnings have come under pressure in recent years, hit by supply chain problems and the rise of cheaper competitors. The company warned earlier this month that it could face bankruptcy
Gavin Newsom pushes back on Trump AI executive order preempting state laws
Crypto mogul Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud
Elon Musk teams with El Salvador to bring Grok chatbot to public schools
Disney wants you to AI-generate yourself into your favorite Marvel movie
Musk calls Doge only ‘somewhat successful’ and says he would not do it again
ICE is using smartwatches to track pregnant women, even during labor: ‘She was so afraid they would take her baby’