Current Affairs Prague EU housing ministers meeting addresses future of high rise flats
The percentage of people living in high rise flats in former Eastern Bloc countries such as the Czech Republic is twice as high as in the 15 "old" European Union states. Indeed a full 40 percent of Czechs live in prefabricated flats, known as panelaks, many of which are in bad repair and in need of major investment. The future of high rise flats was the theme of a Prague meeting of EU housing ministers, hosted by the Czech Republic's local development minister, Jiri Paroubek. He spoke to me at the close of the conference on Tuesday.
Regional Development Minister Jiri Paroubek
"I think the main aim was to speak with my colleagues from the 24
other European Union countries about the main aims of housing policy in
the future, and the area of the revitalisation of suburbs. And we
discussed the possibilities of using the structural funds of the EU for
this purpose."
You're talking about applying to the EU for help, for money - do you think it's very likely you will get that money?
"Our opinion is to use the national...income from structural funds from the EU. We want to use a certain part of the whole amount which we get during the years 2007 to 2013 for this purpose. And that is the opinion of practically all the delegates."
Did you have a chance to visit a Czech "sidliste" or "housing estate" with the other delegates?
Prague conference of EU housing ministers, photo: CTK
"We showed them on a short documentary film Czech sidliste, Czech
suburbs, with panelaks, and I think the majority of members of the
delegation, the majority of ministers, know this problem from their own
countries."
Is there a danger that Czech sidlistes may in the future become ghettos like you might see for example in Paris? Is that a possibility?
"No, I don't think so, because a great part of the buildings in so-called sidliste are in the hands of private owners, I mean co-operatives. In sidliste, in Czech suburbs, are living people from all groups of Czech society, all classes of Czech society, not only from lower income classes."
