Interior Minister Konstantinos Ioannou discussed issues of housing policy in bilateral meetings on the sidelines of his participation in the Ministerial Meeting for the affordable housing organized by the United Nations Economic Committee for Europe UNECE, at the Headquarters of the United Nations.
Mr Ioannou had bilateral meetings on Wednesday with UNECE TATIANA MOLCEAN Director General, and Slovenian Social Solidarity Minister Simon Maljevac.
The Minister of the Interior and the Director General of UNECE have discussed ways to strengthen the cooperation between Cyprus and UNECE, in view of the assumption of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the European Union, especially in terms of housing policy, it is said. "During the meeting, Ioannou had the opportunity to present the priorities that the government would promote in the first half of 2026 during the Cyprus Presidency on housing. In particular, the Minister of the Interior referred to the effort made at national and European level to increase the housing stock, "he added.
In addition, it is noted, "the Minister of Cyprus, which was presented at the high -level conference on the affordable housing under the Danish Presidency of the EU Council, was explained by the Minister for the granting of a special tax status for the implementation of an affordable housing. The issue of reviewing state aid rules was also discussed. "
For her part, Ms Molcean referred to the need to develop a single platform for common policy and optimal practices, as a tool for better coordinating and tackling common challenges in the field of affordable and social housing, according to the announcement. Any solutions will be put to discuss, the Director General of UNECE should be durable and sustainable and take into account the environmental and energy dimension, it is said.
Need to increase European funding to implement affordable roof programs
The increase in European funding for the implementation of affordable housing programs as a central pillar of the European Plan for the Economically Affordable Housing, was at the heart of the discussion of the Cypriot Interior Minister and the Slovenian Minister of Social Solidarity, the statement said. "Messrs. Ioannou and Maljevac has agreed that the European affordable affiliate plan can form the basis for the development of a European housing strategy, with targeted policies adapted to the particular needs of the Member States, "he added. In this context, the interior minister addressed Mr Maljevac to attend the informal ministerial meeting in Cyprus in May 2026, where the roadmap will be examined to integrate the affordable housing in Cohesion Policy 2028-2035.
The two ministers also exchanged views on the practices that the two countries apply national to the management of the housing problem. "It has been found that there are common challenges observed in all states, such as short housing rental (Airbnb), increasing investment interest in the real estate sector, etc.," he notes.
It is also stated that Mr Ioannou was informed by Mr Maljevac about the new incentives of the incentives implemented by Slovenia, with the aim of boosting the affordable rental market, and referred to actions implemented in Cyprus through the Cyprus Earth Development Organization to increase the options of affordable housing options, population.
