Christophe Maes, new President of our Belgian member Embuild
Christophe Maes, Managing Director of the Messiaen construction company, succeeds Thomas Scorier as President of Embuild, our Belgian member federation.Christophe Maes began his career in construction with his father Roland, his brother Tony and his sister Sophie in the Maes family business. He has been actively involved in the Belgian federation for many years. After chairing Embuild Flandres at regional level (from 2012 to 2015), he chaired the FEGC, the Federation of General Building Contractors (from 2015 to 2018). He has also been a member of the Embuild National Council since 2002 and has attended FIEC European Congresses and General Assemblies since 2006. His father Roland was active for many years in the FIEC’s Economic and Legal Commission as Chairman of the Sub-Commission, lobbying for, among other things, a reduced VAT rate for construction activities. It goes without saying that Christophe Maes is well acquainted with our European organisation.
While emphasising his desire to continue the excellent work accomplished by his predecessor Thomas Scorier, Christophe Maes says: “With a view to the elections on 9 June, my priority from now on will be to influence the parties’ programmes and, above all, the forthcoming government agreements. We have a number of important issues ahead of us, among others the VAT on demolition-reconstruction, public investment needs of all kinds and the legal anchoring of the ConstruBadge, a sectoral means of identification that should help in the fight against social fraud“.
Niko Demeester, Managing Director of Embuild: “The construction sector is facing enormous challenges in the coming years, as it tackles the housing shortage and climate change. Christophe has all the qualities, both professional and human, to unite our sector at a key moment in its evolution.”
At FIEC level, we are also looking forward to work together with the new President of Embuild, and are convinced that, like his father Roland, Christophe Maes will also become actively and personally involved in our work to promote the interests of the construction sector at European level.
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Event on 17 April at the European Parliament – Register now!
FIEC & EIC “Construction Manifesto for Action – EU Term 2024-2029” – Building a resilient and sustainable Europe together
As the June 2024 call for EU voters to go to polls is nearing, FIEC, as official partner of the European Parliament campaign under the together.eu initiative, invites the EU community and its stakeholders to the presentation of the Construction Manifesto for Action – EU Term 2024-2029 – “Building a resilient and sustainable Europe together”, which will be hosted at the European Parliament Info Hub.
Click on this link to REGISTER for the event.
Jointly developed with the European International Contractors (EIC), the Manifesto’s 10 key messages are set out to deliver FIEC’s vision for the future of construction in Europe and to share what matters for the sector over the next 5 years.
The event includes a discussion about the impact of construction policies and related issues on the current EU mandate and on the next EU agenda.
Join us for this special launch of the publication at EU level and followed by a networking cocktail. We look forward to welcoming you there!
Our Manifesto available in 10 different linguistic versions via the following link: https://fiec-manifesto.eu/
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FIEC First Vice President Petrucco at “EU Clean Transition Dialogue” with EU Commissioner Hoekstra
On 9 April, FIEC Vice-President Piero Petrucco will participate in the EU Clean Transition Dialogue on Construction with EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra. The discussions will focus on the current challenges related to circularity and decarbonisation, including specific measures such as the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) and possible new measures to support the creation of a circular construction market and ensure the industrial competitiveness of companies.Petrucco will highlgiht in particular the need for planning certainty and time to change business models, the costs of the green transition and the potential of green public procurement to drive market demand for sustainable construction and secondary materials.
The Clean Transition Dialogues were announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the 2023 State of the Union address and are hosted by different Commission services.
Highlights from the Eurobridge conference
On 5 April, the third edition of Eurobridge – an annual conference dedicated to the safety and maintenance of bridges in Europe – took place in Brussels.According to FIEC President Philip Crampton, who kicked-off the event, “the transition to efficient, safe and sustainable mobility is dependent on the infrastructure we have already built, and we are building today. As essential links in our transport network, special attention should be given to bridges“.
This year’s edition focused on the decarbonisation of transport infrastructure.
Invited speakers and experts discussed maintenance models, the carbon impact of failed maintenance and the training of skilled technicians and engineers to provide effective support.
The next edition of Eurobridge will take place on 11 April 2025.
MOBICCON-PRO project – survey on CDW management in Europe
The project partners of the Horizon Europe project MOBICCON-PRO launched a survey to collect data on current construction and demolition (CDW) management practices across Europe. We kindly invite you to a,swer this survey, which is available in 15 different languages and which should take approximately 15-20 minutes to be completed. The responses will be kept confidential and used only for the purposes of this research.The deadline for responding to the survey is on 13 May. You can access it using the links below:
- Link to the survey in English and 4 Nordic languages: https://forms.office.com/e/KsxGjPe186
- Link to the survey in English and 10 other languages: https://forms.office.com/e/itFsHz3G2c
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FIEC calls on Member States to adopt EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive
In a letter addressed to the national governments ahead of the EU Council vote scheduled for 12 April, FIEC calls for the adoption of the agreement on the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD).“Voting for the revised EPBD is an investment in Europe’s economic prosperity – underpinned by a strong construction sector, climate resilience and citizens’ well-being”, says the letter signed by FIEC President Philip Crampton.
FIEC supports “More EU Budget for Transport” Campaign
The transport sector is of strategic importance in responding to Europe’s environmental, geostrategic and capacity challenges. Only with a strong transport sector at its core will Europe be able to reach its climate and resilience goals and safeguard its supply chain sovereignty.In this respect, FIEC is pleased to be one of the 43 organisations supporting the “More EU Budget for Transport” campaign.
Launched during Connecting Europe Days, the campaign highlights several messages explaining the need to invest in Europe’s transport infrastructure.
Transport is vital for the EU’s competitiveness, for meeting its climate targets and for creating jobs. EU grants – togther with a robust EU transport funding instrument – are therefore essential to complete and modernise our transport network.
A campaign flyer (e-leaflet) is available on FIEC Website via the tab below.
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