Conference on Reconstruction of Ukraine
15 February in Athens
The Conference on the Reconstruction of Ukraine took place in Athens on 15 February.Organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the European Investment Bank, the event focused on key sectors including construction, transport/logistics, energy, IT, start-ups and health.
FIEC’s Greek member federation, PEDMEDE (Panhellenic Association of Engineers Contractors for Public Works), was among the participants.
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Co-legislators approve new rules on TEN-T
On 14 February, the Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) approved the revised Regulation on the guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport (TEN-T) network. The new guidelines are a key action under the European Green Deal and the Strategy for Sustainable and Intelligent Mobility.The aim of the regulation is to create an efficient, EU-wide and multimodal network of railways, inland waterways, short sea shipping and roads connected to urban nodes, seaports and inland ports, airports and terminals throughout the EU.
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Member States postpone vote on Due Diligence
The vote on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) has been postponed by the EU Council.The vote was due to take place in Coreper I (Committee of Permanent Representatives) on 9 February but was taken off the agenda at the last moment. It is likely that the vote was postponed because of the possibility of a blocking minority in the EU Council, made up of countries such as Finland, Germany and Italy. A qualified majority is needed to adopt the text.
Member States were due to vote again on CS3D on 14 February, but the vote was postponed again.
FIEC and EIC have supported CS3D from the outset, on condition and to the extent that such legislation is strictly limited to promoting effective and uniform EU-wide application of internationally established and recognised responsible business conduct guidelines.
Both federations reject many aspects of the text agreed by the EU Council and the European Parliament, in particular the extension of the scope of the Directive to the construction sector.
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“Water Resilience Initiative”: European Commission withdraws dossier from its agenda
The European Commission has decided to take its “Water Resilience Initiative” off the agenda for the coming months. A communication on “climate resilience” is due to be presented on 12 March.
Last year, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) issued a joint call for the EU to adopt a “Blue Deal” to “reduce our water footprint in agriculture, industry and household consumption“.
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, announced in September 2023 that the “Water Resilience Initiative” would be a priority for the end of her Commission’s mandate. Maroš Šefčovič, the European Commission Vice-President in charge of the European Green Deal, was due to present the details of the plan in March.
FIEC supports more EU action on water resilience and a comprehensive European strategy to repair and maintain Europe’s old and leaky water infrastructure, which is losing large amounts of water at a time of frequent droughts and heatwaves. FIEC also supports a comprehensive plan to improve Europe’s flood risk management and therefore regrets this decision.
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Internal Market Committee approves Agreement on Construction Products
On 13 February, the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) endorsed the provisional agreement reached between the EU institutions on the revised Construction Products Regulation (CPR).
The plenary will vote on the agreement in April, after which the Member States will also have to approve it before it can be published in the Official Journal of the EU.
Read FIEC’s press statement on the agreement by clicking on the link below.
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Bouw Forum Construction
“Grand Debat Electoral”: Brussels, 23 February
Save the Date – 23 February 2024 (from 10h00 to 12h30 CET) at Brussels Expo – Palais 10 Heysel, Embuild President, Thomas Scorier, and Embuild CEO, Niko Demeester, are speaking at the upcoming “Grand Debat Electoral“.
Bouw Forum Construction is the key information and networking event for construction professionals. Every year, about 800 contractors and installers attend this largest event in Belgium for the sector.
Organised by Embuild, FIEC’s Belgian member federation, the 2024 edition of the Forum, with its “great debate”, will focus on the federal, regional and European Elections to be held in Belgium on 9 June.
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