Brussels Puts Housing Affordability At The Centre Of Social Policy

Preventing homelessness and expanding access to affordable housing topped the agenda in Brussels this week as the European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee (EMPL) discussed new EU measures to tackle housing exclusion.

The debate comes as Cyprus continues to report a lower-than-average risk of poverty and social exclusion, despite growing housing pressures across Europe.

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Housing Rises On The EU Agenda

The committee focused on preventing homelessness, supporting people in insecure housing and expanding social and affordable housing.

EMPL Chair Li Andersson said homelessness should be treated not only as a housing issue but also as a matter of social inclusion and prevention. Although housing policy remains largely a national responsibility, she said the EU can support member states through coordination and the sharing of best practices.

Ciaran Mullooly, vice-chair of Parliament’s housing committee, said the proposal, presented alongside the EU’s first anti-poverty strategy, reflects the growing importance of housing within European social policy.

He noted that 92.7 million people, or 20.9% of the EU population, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025, while around one million people were homeless. House prices have risen by more than 60% across the EU over the past decade, while rents have increased by more than 20%.

The proposal promotes early intervention, eviction prevention, Housing First policies and greater investment in social and affordable housing. It also calls for stronger support for vulnerable groups and would introduce five-year reviews to monitor progress.

Cyprus Remains Below The EU Average

According to the latest Eurostat data, 17.1% of Cyprus’ population, or around 167,000 people, were at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2025, compared with the EU average of 20.9%.

Women remained more exposed than men, while severe material and social deprivation fell to 2.2%. Cyprus also recorded the EU’s second-lowest child poverty or social exclusion rate at 14.8%, although older people continued to face a significantly higher risk than the EU average.

The debate reflects a broader shift in EU policy, with housing affordability increasingly viewed as a social challenge requiring earlier intervention and stronger public support, rather than solely a housing market issue.

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Europe’s Deadly Summer Heat Exposed The Cost Of A Warming Continent

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

October 23, 2026

Europe experienced its deadliest summer for heat-related deaths on record in 2026, with an estimated 24,400 excess deaths linked to extreme temperatures across 30 countries. Researchers estimate that human-induced climate change was responsible for around 32,000 of the deaths attributed to heat in the study’s broader analysis, accounting for 65% of the total.

The findings highlight the growing public-health consequences of global warming, largely driven by fossil fuel use, as extreme heat becomes more frequent and severe.

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A Summer Of Dangerous Heat

Between June and August, heatwaves pushed temperatures in Western Europe to an average of 2.9°C above the 1991–2020 norm, with some days reaching 12°C above average. Nearly a third of estimated heat-related deaths occurred during a particularly intense heatwave between 17 June and 1 July.

“These numbers are a stark reminder that our hotter, more extreme summers are having an increasingly severe impact on public health,” said Dr Clair Barnes, a researcher at Imperial College London and co-author of the study.

The estimated toll exceeded previous peaks of around 29,000 deaths in summer 2022 and 28,000 in 2003 across the region studied.

How Researchers Estimated The Toll

Researchers modelled the relationship between temperature and mortality across 854 urban areas in the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland, covering around 40% of the population in the 30 countries studied.

The analysis incorporated temperature records, age, socioeconomic conditions, environmental factors and access to healthcare. By comparing actual temperatures with those expected without human-induced warming, the team estimated the additional deaths attributable to climate change.

Final official mortality figures for summer 2026 are not yet available in many countries, and heat-related deaths are often underreported because their effects can be difficult to identify directly.

Older People Face The Greatest Risk

People aged 85 and over accounted for roughly half of the estimated deaths. However, the impact extended across age groups, with around 800 excess deaths among adults aged 20–44 and approximately 6,000 among people under 65.

Southern Europe experienced the highest mortality burden, reflecting hotter temperatures and other vulnerabilities, including air pollution, limited green space and unequal access to healthcare and heat-alert systems.

Italy, France And Spain Record Highest Toll

Italy recorded an estimated 13,303 heat-related excess deaths, followed by France with 7,268 and Spain with 6,824. Germany recorded around 6,340, while the UK saw an estimated 4,354 deaths.

In the UK, the heat also placed significant pressure on healthcare services. Andrew Hartle, Professor of Practice of Anaesthesia at Imperial College Healthcare, said demand during the summer resembled that of a severe winter virus season.

Cities Urged To Strengthen Heat Protection

Researchers say cities can reduce the risks through climate shelters, external shading and building retrofits, alongside measures to help residents avoid exposure during the hottest hours. Checking on vulnerable people, staying hydrated and following heat alerts are also important.

The researchers stress that adaptation must go hand in hand with reducing fossil fuel use to limit further warming. The findings underline that extreme heat is already a major public-health threat across Europe, with thousands of lives at risk each summer.

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