FIEC Newsletter -22 Οκτωβρίου 2024

The Confirmation Hearings of the EU Commissioners-designate will take place between 4 and 12 November in the European Parliament. Each candiate-Commissioner will be questioned by the Members of Parliament (MEP). An overview of the 26 Confirmation Hearings is available online and live streaming will be provided.To get political commitments from the candidates, MEPs prepared questionnaires to allow the future Commissioners to prepare themselves for demonstrating their suitability, competence, and ability to fulfil the expectations placed on them.

The College of Commissioners was proposed in September by Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen. As the European Parliament is supposed to accept the full College, it organises Confirmation Hearings to hold the Commissioners-designate accountable, to replace certain controversial candidates, or to force adjustments to particular portfolios. Depending on the outcomes of these hearings, the new European Commission may take office at the earliest in December this year.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, nominated Jessika Roswall for the role of Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience, and a Competitive Circular Economy. Roswall recently served as Minister for European Affairs in the conservative government in Sweden.

Her portfolio will include strengthening water security through a European Water Resilience Strategy as well as to establish a single market for waste and market demand for secondary materials as part of a Circular Economy Act. The announced Water Strategy may be an answer from the Commission to the “EU Blue Deal” advocated by the European Economic and Social Committee. However, ensuring adequate financial resources by facilitating public and private investments in related infrastructure and its maintenance remains key. Working on a “Single Market for Waste” is of particular importance to the built environment, as Construction and Demolition Waste accounts for more than one-third of all waste generated in the EU. The development of robust, credible, and general union-wide criteria and rules for the use of secondary materials will be a cornerstone of a competitive Circular Economy.

FIEC welcomes that addressing water challenges and establishing a harmonised framework for the use of secondary materials have become a priority for the new European Commission. Thanks to our wide-ranging representativeness of the European construction industry, we are happy to contribute to the work of Commissioner-designate Roswall whenever this is useful.

Together with four other employers’ organisations, FIEC signed a Joint Statement on the Report on the application and implementation of the Posting Directive (EU) 2018/957. This joint statement was issued ahead of the 4th meeting of the “Posting 360″, the European Labour Authority (ELA)’s Forum on the Posting of Workers.The meeting will take place on 22 October and will focus on the above-mentioned report, posting of third-country nationals and subcontracting and posting of workers.

In the statement, the signatories state that they welcome the report and its main conclusions. The focus should be on ensuring the full transposition and improving the implementation of the Directive. They also reiterate their commitment to this objective and their support for the work of the ELA.

On 17 October, FIEC updated its interactive map on the activities of third country state-owned enterprises (SOEs Map) in the European procurement market. This is a joint initiative with FIEC’s partners UNIFE (European Rail Supply Industry Association), EuDA (European Dredging Association) and EIC (European International Contractors). Its aim is to identify construction, rolling stock or rail projects in which third country companies are bidding, thus highlighting their growing presence in Europe.

Over the past decade, the activities of state-owned construction enterprises (SOEs) from third countries in and around the EU have reached new dimensions, for example, with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the budgets involved. European contractors are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the unfair practices of these competitors and risk losing their home market unless action is taken to ensure a level playing field.

The latest case is a BGN 1.2 billion (€610 million) offer from CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive for the purchase and maintenance of 20 electric push-pull trains. After the European Commission opened an investigation under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation (FSR), CRRC Qingdao Sifang Locomotive withdrew its bid. The tender was eventually cancelled.

The FSR is an instrument that allows the Commission to tackle distortions caused by foreign subsidies, and the threat of an investigation could deter potentially subsidised companies from bidding for projects in Europe.

In the framework of the revised Asbestos at Work Directive, the European Commission is preparing guidelines for the safe management of asbestos at work. These guidelines will provide practical advice on preventing and reducing exposure to asbestos for employers, workers, experts and all others concerned. The guidelines will also showcase good practices.To develop these guidelines, the European Commission is organising a series of online workshops. The objective is to gather the views of experts and stakeholders on the structure and content of the guidelines. All experts and interested stakeholders are encouraged to participate in the workshops.