San Sebastián, 16 October 2026 — Eneko Andueza, Secretary General of the PSE-EE, has declared housing “the great mission of the country” and warned that the housing market could deepen social inequality. At a conference in San Sebastián, he called for a coordinated approach to housing across all levels of government: municipalities, Gobierno Vasco and the state must “work closely together” to effectively combine supply, access and protection.
Andueza advocated a two-pronged strategy: “build more and protect better”. This should include integrated regulation to prevent abuse, the mobilisation of building land and the expansion of public and publicly subsidised housing. He cited the current legal framework, including the Ley estatal de Vivienda and programmes to bring empty homes into use and support young households in Euskadi, including Bizigune and Gaztelagun. Private landlords should not be condemned across the board; instead, responsible landlords need reliable guarantees, and abuse must be penalised.
MEP Idoia Mendia backed this approach and described housing as “Europe’s new frontier of inequality”. She called for more funding and clear priorities so that publicly accessible housing can be built faster and better protected. Both speakers rejected symbolic debates and called for concrete implementation decisions that bring together municipal practice, regional programmes and state powers.
The appearance marks a statement of the PSE-EE’s position in the ongoing debate on the application of the Ley estatal de Vivienda and regional instruments in Euskadi. The central question is how to combine expanding supply, tenant protection and incentives to provide housing in a way that effectively limits price pressures and achieves social balance. Andueza announced no new deadlines or targets, instead advocating better coordination of existing instruments and budgets. His remarks should be understood as a political priority-setting exercise to be fleshed out in the administrative and parliamentary processes ahead.
It is undisputed that housing costs are putting pressure on low- and middle-income households in many cities. Against this backdrop, the PSE-EE initiative expressly focuses on coordination between levels of government and programmes in Euskadi, to deliver projects that can influence the market more quickly while strengthening social protection.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).