December 1, 2025
On Monday, December 1, 2025, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM, the Member’s Salon of the European Parliament in Brussels was entirely dedicated to ethical finance and the future of the social economy in Europe. In the building at 60 Wiertzstraat, following a lunch, the eighth report on ethical finance in Europe was presented under the title “Capital for the Common Good. Ethical banks and the social economy for Europe’s future”.
Social Economy as a Policy Driver
The kick-off was given by Irene Tinagli, co-chair of the Social Economy Intergroup in the European Parliament. She outlined how recognition of the social economy is, in her view, a prerequisite for this form of enterprise to truly count in policymaking. Therefore, the Intergroup is working to secure a permanent place for these organizations in political decision-making. Models that prioritize societal objectives while remaining financially robust should, according to her, be systematically considered when new European rules are being prepared.
Tinagli referred to her work in the special committee on the housing crisis, established in early 2025. This committee sharply demonstrates how initiatives from the social economy directly address citizens’ daily problems, particularly housing.
Housing as a European Emergency
In her intervention, Tinagli made it clear that housing is at the centre of social cohesion in Europe. Where housing was once a pillar of the welfare state, it has now become a major driver of inequality. Housing and rental prices have been rising faster than incomes for years, especially in cities where wages cannot keep pace with the real estate market.
Post-pandemic inflation, with higher construction and renovation costs, has further increased pressure on families. In many urban areas, a significant portion of the family budget now goes to housing; in numerous cases, over forty percent of income flows to housing costs. Between 2010 and the fourth quarter of 2024, house prices in the European Union rose by approximately fifty-five percent, while rents increased by twenty-seven percent in the same period.
Simultaneously, about sixteen percent of Europeans live in overcrowded homes. Behind these percentages lies a harsh reality: an estimated up to one million people sleep outside every night. Homelessness not only affects people with personal vulnerabilities but increasingly families with children. These families are often invisible because they stay temporarily with friends or family, reside in shelters, or sleep in their cars. According to Tinagli, this directly undermines the ability to work, study, or care for one’s health.
Mapping a Housing Crisis in All Member States
Since February 2025, the special committee on the housing crisis has systematically mapped the situation in all member states. The same patterns emerge everywhere: a shortage of affordable housing, increasing overcrowding, rising homelessness, and a growing gap between market prices and purchasing power. For the Parliament, it is now clear that this is no longer a peripheral issue. Housing insecurity has become a European emergency affecting both vulnerable groups and working families simultaneously.
During hearings and field visits to cities such as Barcelona, Vienna, Milan, Palermo, and Paris, the committee saw how local social economy initiatives formulate concrete answers. Cooperatives, associations, and foundations organize alternative housing models, social renovation projects, and neighbourhood-oriented services. According to Tinagli, these practical examples show that the social economy offers one of the most tangible and feasible paths to address the housing crisis.
Ethical Finance as a Lever
The meeting in the European Parliament focused on that role of finance. Following introductions by Teresa Masciopinto, President of Fondazione Finanza Etica, and María Elejalde Elcuaz on behalf of FEBEA’s youth working group, researcher Mauro Meggiolaro from Fondazione Finanza Etica presented the eighth report on ethical finance in Europe. The report explains how ethical banks and social investment funds support the social economy, thus bridging financial resources and societal objectives.
In the panel discussion “How finance supports social economy,” Federica Ielasi, Vice-President of Banca Etica, as moderator, outlined the key findings. She spoke with Gelsomina Vigliotti, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, FEBEA Secretary-General Daniel Sorrosal, Martin Rohner, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for Banking on Values, and Ruth Paserman, Director for Funds at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment. Social Economy Europe was represented by President Sarah de Heusch. Together, they sketched how mission-driven capital – financing that starts from a societal purpose – enables projects around affordable housing and sustainable renovation.
According to the speakers, traditional market mechanisms often pose a barrier to such projects. Social economy initiatives aim not for maximum profit but for maximum social impact, with economic viability as a necessary condition. For such projects, long-term loans, adapted interest rates, and guidance are crucial. According to them, ethical banks and social financial institutions hold a key position here, as they combine expertise with an explicit societal mandate.
Deploying Public Funds More Smartly
The further exchange also addressed the role of European programs. Tinagli pointed to the recent revision of the InvestEU programme, which provides more space for the advisory desk. This makes additional technical support available for small-scale, locally led projects, enabling them to access European funding that would otherwise remain difficult to reach.
Those present agreed that the government cannot bear the housing crisis alone. So-called public-private partnerships take on a different dimension when social enterprises are also in the cockpit. Societal objectives are central, while financial sustainability ensures continuity. By explicitly involving ethical banks, cooperatives, and other social economy actors, public funds can, according to them, be used more effectively to realise sustainable housing solutions.
Closing Message from Ethical Banks and Social Economy
The meeting was concluded by FEBEA President Peru Sasia and Maravilla Abadìa Jover, co-chair of the Social Economy Intergroup. They emphasized that the figures on housing and homelessness are an alarm signal, but simultaneously show that many initiatives already exist demonstrating that alternatives are possible. The challenge for the coming years, according to them, lies in strengthening and scaling up these experiences.
For ethical banks, this means continuing to invest in projects that combine social objectives and ecological sustainability with solid financial structures. For the social economy, the task lies in building partnerships with local authorities, national governments, and European institutions. This way, housing can once again be part of a broad social policy, instead of an increasingly heavy burden on families’ shoulders.
The presentation of the report “Capital for the Common Good” makes it clear that ethical finance and the social economy are moving closer together in the European debate. The conversation in Brussels showed that housing is no longer a technical dossier but a litmus test for how Europe shapes its society.
Sources:
Fondazione Finanza Etica
FEBEA
Banca Etica
European Investment Bank
Global Alliance for Banking on Values
European Parliament, Social Economy Intergroup and services of general interest
Andy Vermaut +32499357495