Public Procurement: FIEC joins cross-sector call for stronger competition
On 8 May, FIEC joined Business Europe, EBC, European DIGITAL SME Alliance, FEAD and SMEunited in a joint statement calling for stronger competition in public procurement as part of the ongoing revision of the EU Public Procurement Directives.
The signatories express deep concern that calls to limit the use of in-house procurement and public-public cooperation have not been adequately reflected in the evaluation and summary reports following the public consultations carried out in 2025 and 2026. They also warn against any approach that would further exempt cooperation between public authorities from procurement rules without appropriate safeguards.
While in-house arrangements and public-public cooperation may be justified in specific circumstances, they should remain exceptional, necessary and properly justified. Preferential treatment of public entities, including state-owned enterprises, can distort competition, reduce market access for private companies and discourage private investment.
The statement therefore proposes the introduction of a “competition test”. Where private operators capable of carrying out a contract exist on the relevant market, contracting authorities should be required to launch a competitive procurement procedure. Only where no capable private operators are available should an in-house entity or public-public cooperation arrangement be used without a tender.
For the construction sector, this issue is particularly important. Open and effective competition is essential to ensure project quality, timely delivery, technical innovation and the sound use of public funds. FIEC also stresses that in-house arrangements should not be used as a pass-through mechanism where the entrusted public entity ultimately subcontracts the works to private operators.
Through this joint action, FIEC calls on the European Commission to ensure that the revised Public Procurement Directives preserve fair competition, transparency and market access for companies of all sizes, especially SMEs.
| JOINT STATEMENT |
Social Security Coordination: Construction industry to safeguard mandatory prior notification for posting workers
Following the major breakthrough on 22 April, where a provisional agreement on the revision of the social security coordination across the EU had been reached among the co-legislators, further good news followed. On 29 April, the COREPER formally confirmed the agreement (with 21 Member States in favour), and on 6 May, the Employment Committee of the European Parliament confirmed at a very large majority.
For FIEC, this is also a very positive outcome to a long-lasting lobbying activity, in cooperation with the EU construction trade unions (EFBWW – European Federation of Building and Wood Workers), as well as with the European Builders Confederation (EBC). The co-legislators finally recognised the specific characteristics of the construction sector – exposed to risks of frauds and accidents – and therefore the necessity to safeguard mandatory prior notification for posting construction workers abroad, from day one, without exemptions for short-term activities.
Next step, the European Parliament should give its final green light during the July plenary meeting. The Council should then put the final stamp at any of its formal meetings. This shall close a legislative procedure which lasted 10 years. It can be expected that the new legislation could be published by the end of 2026 and be eventually applicable by the end of 2028.
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FIEC participates in ELA Management Board meeting
On 5 May in Bratislava, the European Labour Authority held its annual joint meeting of its Management Board and the Stakeholders’ Group. Having a seat in this latter consultative social partners’ body, FIEC participated in this event.
On the agenda, the ELA management team explained the actions which are planned to respond to the European Commission’s evaluation published in 2025. The internal structure of the Authority has namely been reorganised for more efficiency and in-depth work will be done to better monitor the concrete performance of the Authority’s various activities. Concerted and Joint Inspections are still high on ELA’s priorities and their number are constantly increasing. However, the proportion of finalised post-inspection reports is quite low, due to the difficulty for ELA to collect final data from Member States. This is namely why ELA is asking for a targeted revision of its mandate in this field.
A number of forthcoming activities will be of interest for the construction sector, including research work on “barriers to posting”, linked to EU’s Single Market strategy. FIEC will keep closely following these developments.
Swedish delegation visits FIEC in Brussels
On 7 May, representatives of our Swedish member Byggföretagen – visited FIEC at its premises in Brussels. The exchange focused on key policy developments affecting the construction sector, such as subcontracting, the forthcoming EU Construction Services Act and solutions to the housing crisis across Europe.
The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss national experiences and how EU-level legislation is affecting contractors. The well-developed sectoral social dialogue in Sweden already effectively ensures strong social protection standards.
Participants therefore highlighted the need for balanced EU-legislation that takes account of national solutions to ensure and support fair competition, efficient project delivery and increased housing supply while respecting the principle of subsidiarity.
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