Fortunately a legal precedent exists which should make the extension of European Union competence in housing policy easier. Loans are available for housing authorities and housing associations for this purpose, priority being given to coal and steel workers living in the worst accommodation. The European Union has, in the course of their evolution, extended their competence several times into new areas. Environmental, health and research policy are just some examples. Several extensions of competence were embraced by the Single European Act and others by the subsequent agreement in Maastricht in 1992.
Housing policy is a legitimate area for the extension of competence, and more urgent.
This argument does not carry weight, for two reasons. First, existing policies in the field of housing and homelessness, considered by national and local governments to be the responsibility of local or regional authorities, have failed to resolve or even mitigate these problems. A trans-European approach is vital. Second, the economic and social integration of the European Union presupposes the operation of economic and social forces on more than a national scale. It is not logical to expect the mobility of labour and people without taking into account the question of where people live.