Rui Rocha says European Commission government letter admits ‘huge failure’ of ‘More Housing’ package

The leader of the Liberal Initiative said this Friday that the letter the government has sent to the European Commission represents an acknowledgment of the “huge failure” of the Mais Habitação package, even before the measures go into effect.

“This is a way of acknowledging that the Mais Habitação package, which has not even entered into force, is already a huge failure and will not solve a single problem for the Portuguese,” Rui Rocha told reporters after visiting the medical center. Algeiran-Mem Martins in Sintra.

Expresso reports that the Prime Minister “wants the help of the European Commission in solving housing problems” and that the government sent a “letter [Úrsula] von der Leyen, in which he proposes making housing and retaining talent one of the priorities of the Brussels administration.

This government housing program “will create even more problems,” warned Rui Rocha, for whom “when you take away confidence from the market,” there is less affordable housing in the country.

“This happened before this program went into effect because it was clear what was going to happen, and therefore there was a reduction in investment and a decrease in the amount of housing available for rent,” the IL director said.

“The prime minister is now admitting that he is a failure even before it goes into effect and is calling on the EU to solve a problem that he himself has not solved,” he criticized.

On August 21, the president of the republic vetoed a decree consolidating major changes to housing legislation – with changes to lease, licensing or local residence conditions – approved on July 19 in parliament by the PS, which said it would approve it. at the beginning of the next legislative session.