The Ministerial Meeting launched the study “#Housing2030:  Improving Housing Affordability in the UNECE Region” which was developed by UNECE in cooperation with Housing Europe and UN-Habitat; and endorseed a regional action plan for the UNECE region “Place and Life in the ECE - A Regional Action Plan 2030: Tackling challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate and housing emergencies in region, city, neighbourhood and homes”.

Czechia was represented at the Ministerial Meeting by Ms Daniela Grabmüllerová, Deputy Minister for Regional Development and Head of Delegation, and Ms Marie Mohylová, Bureau Member of the Committee. Deputy Minister Grabmüllerová in her intervention informed the delegates of the new Building Act, which will enter into force in January next year. Prague is substantially lagging behind in the number of building permits issued compared to comparable cities in Europe. The new Building Act is expected to change complicated, administratively demanding and lengthy process of issuing building permits, accelerate and streamline permit-granting procedures for citizens and investors by removing obstacles to housing construction and thus improving substantially the investment climate.

Another important step was the recently approved new Housing Strategy by the Czech Government with an aim to identify appropriate tools for an increase in general housing affordability for all segments of society. International cooperation in housing and urban development effectively helps the Czech Government to formulate concrete national actions aimed at improvement the housing affordability in post-pandemic recovery taking into consideration numerous economic and social challenges.