FIEC Newsletter – 01 Οκτωβρίου 2024

Since several months a strong housing crisis is hitting many Member States and the forecast does not show significant signs of recovery in the near future. FIEC therefore welcomes the decision of President von der Leyen to propose a dedicated Commissioner for Housing.Candidate-Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, from Denmark, should have in his portfolio the responsibility for Energy and Housing, two closely related issues that are key for the achievement of the “green” transition. The focus of his mandate on “affordable housing” is also crucial for ensuring a just transition.

A central political responsibility for Housing within the College of Commissioners is something that was missing until now.

However, it should not be forgotten that the construction industry covers a wide-range of activities, from small renovations to large infrastructure works, including the maintenance of existing infrastructure, which also need a coordinated political responsibility.

The European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) has provided €2.5 billion under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) to build and modernise transport infrastructure in the EU, Ukraine and Moldova.

The projects to be financed will contribute to the extension and modernisation of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and thus to the EU’s objective of achieving climate neutrality by 2050.

Applications are open to EU Member States, international organisations or public or private entities established in an EU Member State or in countries associated to the CEF (Ukraine and Moldova), and will close on 21 January 2025.

The final conference of the Social Dialogue project “Towards A New Start of Industrial Relations in Construction in Central and East European Countries (CEECs)” will take place in Sofia and online on 24 October 2024.The event will include a presentation of a research on construction skills in Bulgaria, insights from the European sectoral social partners of construction industry (FIEC and EFBWW, the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers), and a discussion on how to make the sector more attractive to young people and women.

The conference will also highlight the added value of the Paritarian Model through the presentation provided by the European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP).

If you are interested in attending, please fill in the registration form at the link below.