The politics of making a house a home, with Commissioner Dan Jørgensen

"Making a House a Home" is the podcast of Housing Europe, bringing the voice of public, cooperative, and social housing into the European debate. In this episode, Diana Yordanova speaks with Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing, from the European Commission’s headquarters in Brussels - the Berlaymont. The timing couldn’t be better, just one week after Ursula von der Leyen’s State of the Union speech. 🎙️In this conversation, we explore some of the biggest questions facing Europe’s housing sector. What does Europe’s housing crisis look like from the perspective of the first European Commissioner with housing in the title? How can Europe build the institutions, skills and structures needed to deliver affordable housing for generations — not just finance individual projects? How can public policy distinguish between investment that creates new homes and stronger neighbourhoods and investment that extracts value from existing housing? Can housing secure a lasting place in the next EU budget alongside competing priorities such as defence, agriculture and digital sovereignty? What can the EU Affordable Housing Initiative teach us about turning today’s “Lighthouse” projects into the normal way Europe invests in and renews its neighbourhoods? And, looking towards 2029, what should someone searching for an affordable home actually notice?