The Treaty Protocol on ‘Services of General Interest’ emphasises the role played by national, regional and local authorities, including their responsibility for social housing.

Commission Decision 2005/842/EC(1) provides for exemption from state aid notification for certain services of general interest. It refers to social housing as housing provided for ‘disadvantaged citizens or socially less advantaged groups which due to solvability constraints are unable to obtain housing at market conditions’. This limited definition presents a barrier to the effective provision of social housing. Furthermore, the Member States retain exclusive competence for defining the missions and role of social housing, including the setting of allocation criteria.

1. Is the Commission of the opinion that there should be one single definition of social housing in the EU?
2. How does the Commission justify the fact that its decisions infringe the principle of subsidiarity and the right of national and decentralised authorities to organise services in respect of the universal right to housing?
3. If the Commission considers that its decisions do not infringe the above-mentioned rights, and if the Member States are supposed to have a wide margin of discretion in defining the target group for social housing, why is access then limited to households with an income of less than EUR 33 000?