Address by CEB Vice-Governor Tomáš Boček at Housing Conference (Ljubljana, 26 November 2025)

Turning Vision into Homes: Slovenia's Affordable Housing Journey

As prepared for delivery

Spoštovani predsednik vlade Golob, minister Maljevac, spoštovane dame in gospodje, dear friends,

It is a great honour to be with you today, in the heart of Ljubljana, on behalf of the Council of Europe Development Bank.

We gather to mark an important step in Slovenia’s affordable housing journey, embodied in its third national housing strategy.

This moment is more than a policy milestone. It is an affirmation of dignity, a social commitment, and a responsibility toward future generations. It speaks not only of what Slovenia builds, but of how it builds, with integrity, foresight, and human care.

We also recognise an important evolution. Housing in Slovenia is increasingly understood as essential social infrastructure, not simply a market asset. This aligns with the CEB’s mission. For almost 70 years, we have financed homes for families, young people, seniors, people experiencing homelessness, migrants, and all who face barriers to a safe and dignified home.

Housing: a European challenge, a Slovenian example

Across Europe, housing has become one of the defining challenges of our time. Prices rise faster than incomes, affordable homes are scarce, and the dream of a safe, dignified place to live feels out of reach for too many. This is not only a Slovenian problem; it is a European social, economic, and moral challenge.

Europe is responding, placing housing at the heart of its agenda through the European Affordable Housing Plan and a wider effort with international financial institutions to mobilise financing, blended instruments, and policy tools.

In this shared European effort, Slovenia stands out.

You are not waiting for others to bring solutions – you are shaping them. You show that when housing policy is grounded in real needs, guided by evidence, and delivered through strong partnerships, it works.

Real progress, as Slovenia shows us, is not born overnight. It grows from a collective effort.

Policies succeed when they are owned by the people and deliver outcomes for all and especially the most vulnerable among us.

Slovenia’s commitment to cost-based, long-term, affordable rental housing reflects exactly the kind of resilient, lifecycle affordability that Europe seeks to scale.

Slovenia shows that housing can be both an economic engine and a driver of social inclusion. A living example of what Europe can achieve when policy becomes people-centred action.

A partnership built on trust and results

The partnership between Slovenia and the CEB is long-standing and strong.

With €140 million in loans since 2015, the CEB has supported the construction of 2 000 new homes in Slovenia, with another €300 million in pipeline.

Behind these numbers are stories - families finding stability, young people gaining independence, and elderly citizens living with comfort and care. These are not statistics; they are lives transformed.

We have opened homes together – in Ljubljana and Maribor, Koper and Novo mesto – and each time I witnessed a genuine sense of collaboration, well-executed projects, shared purpose, and pride.

Your work in combining new construction with renovation, energy efficient standards and community-oriented design reflects the heart of Europe’s green and fair transition.

Slovenia’s social, youth and senior housing embody a European determination to leave no one behind.

Through the InvestEU Advisory Hub, we have also mobilised close to €400 000 in technical assistance to support the national strategy and strengthen housing delivery models.

The new joint housing facility

And the spirit of cooperation continues. Together with SID Banka, the CEB and EIB are exploring to build a new €300 million Housing Facility.

This facility would bring together a national budget commitment, our two banks’ financing and the possibility to incorporate EU funds, creating one coherent mechanism.

From know-how to excellence: Slovenia as a model

Slovenia also understands that financing alone is not enough. The process—the lessons learned, the accumulated knowledge, the use of evidence and ideas—matters just as much.

Your investment in data, institutional capacity, and the idea of a future Housing Centre of Excellence mirrors a core European priority: to build coordinated, evidence-based housing systems that can guide investment for decades.

In doing so, Slovenia is not only implementing policy - it is shaping a modern culture of housing excellence for Europe.

The CEB stands ready to support this effort.

Team Europe: working together and CEB’s commitment

This conference is another expression of unity. In this room, we have the European Commission, the EIB, the EBRD, and the CEB, all working in concert with Slovenian institutions.

Slovenia shows that Europe’s effort begins in local realities, where communities and partners at every level work together toward a common goal.

At the CEB, we remain fully committed:

• to continue financing affordable housing across Slovenia
• to provide advisory and technical assistance
• to work with European partners so Slovenia can access the best solutions

Building more than homes—building Europe’s future

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today is a day of celebration but also of a reflection. Because home is not about walls and roofs. It is about belonging, dignity and opportunity. It is the very fibre of the European social stability.

There is more work to be done. But the direction is clear. Slovenia shows that when vision meets preparation, and when institutions work with communities, results follow.

As we look to the future, I invite all of Europe to look to Slovenia. What we see here is not only a national success story, but a picture of what Europe strives to be: socially conscious, community centred, environmentally responsible and – profoundly human.

Let us continue walking this path together, building not only houses but homes, not only programmes but trust, and a shared European future where everyone has a place to call home.

Housing is where Europe becomes real in people’s lives.

Hvala lepa. Thank you.