FIEC Newsletter – 20 Ιουνίου 2023

On 13 June, the European Commission published a new Sustainable Finance package, including, for example, a new Communication on “A sustainable finance framework that works on the ground” and a document on enhancing the usability of the EU taxonomy. It also approved in principle the EU taxonomy Environmental Delegated Act, including new circular economy technical criteria for construction.According to FIEC’s first assessment, just minor changes have been made to the criteria that will apply to the construction sector, compared to the April version of the delegated act.

Once translated into all EU languages, the delegated act will be formally adopted and then transmitted to the co-legislators (Member States and European Parliament) for a 4-month scrutiny period. The delegated act is expected to apply as of January 2024.

On 13 June, FIEC participated in a Workshop on the “Green Reconstruction of Ukraine: the role of Sustainability standards and technical regulations” hosted by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the Ukrainian National Standardisation Body (UAS).The event was attended by stakeholders such as the European Commission, the European Investment Bank, CEN-CENELEC, and by many other stakeholders from the private sector.

During the conference, FIEC delivered a statement in which it reported on the work of its “Task Force Ukraine”, its participation in the Recovery Construction Forum held in Kyiv last February, and the publication of its “Joint Recommendations for the future Reconstruction of Ukraine”.

On the occasion of the General Assembly of ARACO (Romanian Association of Building Contractors, FIEC’s Romanian federation), which took place on 16 May 2023, Mr. Laurențiu Plosceanu was unanimously re-elected President of the Romanian Association of Building Contractors  for the period 2023 – 2025.

In addition to his mandate at the head of ARACO, Laurențiu Plosceanu is also a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and, during the elections held around end of April 2023, for the second two-and-a-half-year term of the EESC’s 2020-2025, Mr Plosceanu was elected new Vice-President for Communication of the EESC.

On 6 June, Adina Vălean (EU Commissioner for Transport) and Oleksandr Kubrakov (Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development) signed an agreement associating Ukraine to the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme.

The Connecting Europe Facility is a key EU funding instrument to promote growth, jobs and competitiveness through infrastructure investment at European level.

The agreement, signed in Lviv, will bring Ukraine closer to the EU by integrating it within interconnected trans-European networks. Ukrainian project promoters will be able to apply for EU funding for projects of common interest in the fields of transport, energy and digital.

The agreement will also support Ukraine’s integration within the EU Single Market, promoting growth, jobs and competitiveness.

On 7 June, the European Commission published a Communication on a new comprehensive approach to mental health. With a chapter focused on tackling psychosocial risks at work, the Commission highlights that workers’ mental health is a precondition for work ability, competence and productivity. Therefore, three flagship initiatives are proposed:

On 16 June, FIEC participated in the “Sustainable Places” conference and presented the MOBICCON-PRO project funded by Horizon Europe programme. The Annual Conference gathered more than 100 European projects for dissemination and networking toward a better-built environment. Topics included digitalisation, circularity, sustainable construction and renovation.The MOBICCON-PRO project partners presented the main objectives and the Work Plan. Additionally, some of the main milestones, namely achieved by the Territorial Cluster Center in Sofia and Mobile Pilot Plant for Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW), were highlighted. It was also discussed about the innovative digital solutions proposed by the project to recover resources from construction and demolition waste.