FIEC Newsletter – 12 Μαρτίου 2024

On 5 March, Jean-Pierre Paseri, FIEC Vice-President for Technical Affairs, spoke at the European Parliament’s Investment Industry Intergroup event on “Infrastructure Maintenance and the Decarbonisation Challenge“.The debate was chaired by MEP Dominique Riquet and brought together some key stakeholders from the construction sector as well as representatives from the European Commission.

During his intervention, VP Paseri highlighted the main challenges related to infrastructure maintenance and decarbonisation and summarised FIEC’s key messages and policy recommendations for the report of the recently created DG MOVE Working Group on “Decarbonising Transport Infrastructure Construction“.

FIEC has long stressed that the construction sector is fully committed to reducing its own carbon footprint and enabling other industries and consumers to decarbonise by providing a sustainable built environment. To achieve this, it is necessary to look not only at building projects, but also at civil engineering and infrastructure projects.

On 5 March, one week before the plenary vote in the European Parliament on the provisional agreement on the new Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), FIEC sent a letter to the political groups in the Parliament recommending the adoption of the EPBD.According to the letter, signed by FIEC President Philip Crampton, “the EPBD must be seen as an integral part of a strategic policy plan that will allow – and has already allowed – the EU to become energy and industrially independent from Europe’s strategic adversaries“.

In addition, FIEC believes that the agreement provides for a high degree of flexibility for Member States.

The plenary vote will take place in Strasbourg on 12 March. If MEPs approve the agreement, the new Directive will be translated into all EU languages and then published in the EU’s Official Journal.

On 6 March, FIEC presented its “Call for a European Blue Deal” to the respective cabinets of the European Commission President, Ursula Von der Leyen, Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, the European Council President, Charles Michel, the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo and the European Parliament President, Roberta Metsola.In a joint letter accompanying the position and also signed by the EIC (European International Contractors) and CICA (Confederation of International Contractors’ Associations), FIEC stressed that “water is a critical resource, not only for human survival, but also for political and economic stability and industrial prosperity – in the EU-27 and internationally“.

In the letter, FIEC also said that the “European and international contractors are heavily involved in water-related construction projects and provide services that are essential for a Blue Deal.”

The letter was sent to EU leaders ahead of a conference on water resilience organised on 12 March by the Belgian EU Presidency.

On 5-6 March, the ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform), of which FIEC is member, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a high-level conference gathering stakeholders from the whole construction value-chain involved in research and innovation (R&I), as well as representatives from the EU Insitutions.The conference has been a unique opportunity to highlight and exchange about future perspectives and priorities in R&I in the construction sector and to share a vision on potential synergies with organisations and domains connected to the Built environment.

On 4 March, FIEC co-signed the “Antwerpen Declaration for a European Industrial Deal“.The Declaration calls on Member States, the next European Commission and European Parliament to, inter alia, adopt an action plan to elevate competitiveness as strategic priority and create the conditions for a stronger business case in Europe; include a strong public funding chapter with a Clean Tech Deployment Fund for energy-intensive industries; focus on infrastructure and permitting; increase the EU’s raw material security, and boost demand for net zero, low carbon and circular products.

To date, the declaration has been signed by more than 560 organisations from 20 different sectors.

On 5 March, the EU Member States adopted the Liege Declaration on “Affordable, decent and sustainable Housing for all” during the European Conference of Housing Ministers, organised by the Belgian Presidency of the EU Council. The ministers exchanged on best practices in resilient renovation and construction programmes aligned with climate change and on the diversification of funding sources for the creation and renovation of affordable and social housing.In the declaration, the ministers recognise that there is a lack of affordable housing in the EU, which may impact the economic and social cohesion of the Union. To tackle this problem, they support the need for more public and private investments, which should also “improve the condition of existing housing stock”.

The Member States also promote the development of more innovative housing solutions to ensure affordable housing and allow “construction costs to be reduced and circular buildings”. They also stress the need to develop “industrialisation and digitalisation technologies to support the delivery of new housing and renovation of existing housing”.

Finally, with the declaration, the ministers call for a European New Deal for affordable and social housing.