European Platform on Combatting Homelessness - Preview

European institutions, EU governments and civil society have committed to working together towards combatting homelessness in the EU.

Combatting homelessness – a priority for Social Europe

At the high-level conference in Lisbon co-organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2021 national ministers as well as representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions, civil society organisations, social partners and cities signed the Lisbon Declaration and launched the European Platform On Combatting Homelessness.

The signatories pledged to work together under the umbrella of the Platform and to deliver actions within their respective competences.

All stakeholders have committed to renewing their efforts in fighting homelessness, notably by reinforcing prevention and implementing integrated, housing-led approaches that seek to end, not simply manage, homelessness.

They agreed on the following objectives:

no one sleeps rough for lack of accessible, safe and appropriate emergency accommodation
no one lives in emergency or transitional accommodation longer than is required for successful move-on to a permanent housing solution
no one is discharged from any institution (e.g. prison, hospital, care facility) without an offer of appropriate housing
evictions should be prevented whenever possible and no one is evicted without assistance for an appropriate housing solution, when needed
no one is discriminated due to their homelessness status

The Platform is also a concrete deliverable of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan to implement Principle 19 on Housing and assistance to the homeless.