Today in Strasbourg, during the European Parliament’s plenary session, a debate took place on the EU strategy aimed at helping young people cope with the housing crisis and the cost-of-living crisis. PiS MEP Joachim Brudziński spoke during the debate.
Joachim Brudziński noted that much has been said about the younger generation, which has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, mental health issues, and depression, and added that this issue is compounded by the problem of a lack of housing availability, which exists regardless of whether we are talking about the “Old EU” countries or those that joined the European Community later. “Today, real estate prices—whether in Paris, Rome, Dublin, Warsaw, Prague, or Bratislava—are practically out of reach for the younger generation,” he stated. The Polish politician noted that the beneficiaries are banks and financial institutions, which are creating a speculative bubble in real estate prices. He pointed out that until recently, when people spoke of “slum developments,” images of Hong Kong and other Asian countries came to mind, but today this problem is visible even on the streets of Warsaw. He mentioned that the price per square meter of such a “pathodeveloper” apartment—a unit measuring just over a dozen square meters, where beds are practically bolted to the wall—reaches over a dozen thousand zlotys. “Either we fight for the younger generation, or it will be a lost generation,” the MEP urged. As an example of positive measures for young people, he cited the actions of the Law and Justice government, which helped them in a number of ways, such as by assisting with mortgage payments through low-interest loans subsidized by the state budget, which young people received after meeting specific criteria.
