More EU budget for transport – the best investment plan for Europe
A coalition of associations including FIEC has launched a dedicated website www.moreeubudget4transport.org, a Twitter account@MFF4transport and an online petition www.change.org/p/more-targeted-budget-programs-for-eu-transport. The coalition supports a strong EU budget for transport after 2020. The campaign kicked off just ahead of the Informal Council meeting of Heads of States and Governments on 23rd February. The Council discussed the priorities for the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework (post-2020). The campaign will intensify until the next TEN-T DAYS conference, which will take place from 25th to 27th April in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Shortly afterwards, the European Commission will present its official proposals for the multi-annual EU budget post-2020. We encourage you to follow this campaign and spread the word!
“Carto Amiante” project: mapping exposure to asbestos
In France the first results of a project entitled “Carto Amiante” (= “Mapping Asbestos”) were presented at the end of 2017. The aim of this project was to map the exposure to asbestos in the most common work situations in construction. In total 6 different work situations at 283 worksites were analysed, such as drilling in flooring, sanding paint or interior plaster, cutting or dismantling an outdoor asbestos cement pipe, etc.
The overall results are positive, with 75% of the measurements presenting less than 5 fibres per litre, which indicates that the exposure in the situations observed is well under control. The report also presents advice on how to further improve the way in which companies address exposure to asbestos.
Further information and the complete report (available only in French) can be downloaded from the website of the French prevention body for the construction industry OPPBTP. by clicking on the button below.
A report has been published at the request of European Commissioner Carlos Moedas. “Mission-Oriented Research and Innovation in the European Union – A problem solving approach to fuel innovation-led growth’ provides strategic recommendations on Missions, and how they can be structured in the future European Union Research and Innovation Programme (FP9). Feedback on the report is invited until 3 April, via the website http://bit.ly/2GDRAbw. The report itself can be found on the link below.
EU Industry Day showcases innovative and sustainable industry
The European Commission hosted a full programme of events during its two day European Industry Day 2018. With financial and logistics support and an array of key speakers from relevant units in the Commission, the event welcomed hundreds of guests from across the EU and provided an entertaining and informative series of workshops. For construction, the European Commission supported an event which was co-hosted with the federations CECE, FIEC, EBC and Construction Products Europe. Construction – towards an inclusive digital strategy focused on the digital transformation of the industry. Fulvia Raffaelli, Head of Unit DG GROW, Clean Technologies and Products, talked about the many digital tools that are being increasingly used in construction, such as drones, 3D printers and scanners. She emphasised the opportunity for companies and the commitment of the Commission to support the industry through the transformation. Max Lemke, Head of Unit DG CONNECT, Technologies and Systems for Digitising Industry, announced an EU strategy for Artificial Intelligence, which is expected later this year. He also announced welcome financial support for the development of an EU data platform for digital construction, with follow up funding expected in the next EU term post-2019.
