Ensuring mobility and a level playing field : key challenges
“Several Member States are still facing dramatically high unemployment rates, in particular amongst young people, whilst at the same time in others, companies cannot find workers with the right skills. We need mobility within the EU, but not at any price.
Ensuring the right balance between the opening of the EU Internal Market and those rules and tools aimed at ensuring a level playing field for companies and the respect of workers’ rights are key challenges for the long term sustainability of the construction industry”, declared FIEC President, Jean-Louis Marchand, during the 2017 FIEC conference in Stockholm.
| READ MORE |
FIEC Statistical Report 2017: construction industry continues its slow recovery
On 9th June, FIEC released the 2017 edition of its Statistical Report on construction activity in Europe. “Overall, EU total construction output amounted to €1,278 billion in 2016, which represents an increase of 2.2% compared to 2015. An increase in activity was seen in almost all segments, except those that are the most dependent on public investment,” reported FIEC President Jean-Louis Marchand. “And 2017 will finally show an overall increase in activity. This is positive, but we will still need time to recover the pre-crisis levels.”
Behind the overall figure for the EU as a whole, disparities between Member States remain significant with, in general terms, Northern European countries still doing better than South-Eastern European countries.
The main driving forces in 2016 were clearly the new housebuilding segment (+8%) and the private non-residential segment (+6.6%), influenced by the overall economic recovery. In contrast, the public non-residential (-5.9%) and the civil engineering (-0.3%) segments remained weak.
All in all, the construction industry remains one of the major engines of Europe’s growth. It represents 8.6% of EU GDP, provides jobs for 14.3 million people and involves 3.3 million enterprises – the vast majority of which are SMEs.
| READ MORE |
EU Sustainable Energy Week 19-25 June
The annual week of activities focusing on Sustainable Energy will take place from 19-25 June, with various events scheduled in Brussels. Amongst other meetings, there will be a session on the Voluntary Assessment Framework for the Environmental Performance of Buildings, which is being finalised by DG ENV and the Joint Research Centre. FIEC has been involved for the last couple of years in one of the stakeholder groups.
| READ MORE |
Revision of the Eurovignette Directive: let’s go even further!
On 31st May, the European Commission adopted a new mobility package, including a proposal to revise the “Eurovignette” Directive, which allows Member States to levy infrastructure charges on their road network and encourages them to earmark these funds for “sustainable transport”.
FIEC welcomed the new coherent approach proposed, a distance-based system, which will reinforce the “polluter pays” principle.
However, FIEC regrets that Member States are still free to choose whether or not to implement such a system and also that the European Commission has not proposed reinforcing the earmarking principle.
“The internalisation of external costs should not be an end in itself, but aimed at supporting the development of efficient and sustainable infrastructure and, by the way, reducing the external costs of road transport”, stressed FIEC President Jean-Louis Marchand.
| READ MORE |