“Reducing Respirable Crystalline Silica Dust Effectively” – Project final conference
The EU social partners of construction industry, FIEC and EFBWW, held the final conference of the EU funded project “Reducing Respirable Crystalline SIlica Dust Effectively” on 18th January.
The event was a great success attracting 100 participants from different horizons (construction companies, workers, OSH coordinators and other institutional experts) interested in the proper implementation of the European occupational exposure limit value for Respirable Crystalline Silica.
The social partners presented the main outcomes of the project, i.e. key research results and a mapping of construction activities showing how contractors and their workers can reach an adequate level of protection by taking the appropriate prevention measures.
These main outcomes can be downloaded from FIEC website.
Please note that other language versions of the mapping will soon be available (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Latvian, Czech, Polish, Croatian, Romanian and Turkish).
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FIEC publishes ‘Fit for 55’ Position Paper
With the July and December packages being on the table, FIEC took a stance on the ‘Fit for 55’ initiatives and their potential effect on construction. Without any doubt, the packages will have a wide-ranging impact on the construction supply chain with the proposed pieces of legislation affecting the whole life cycle of construction works – from material, transportation, machinery to the client’s specification. Tackling emissions at the source, the legislative proposals are an enabling framework for decarbonising construction works throughout their lifecycle.
POSITION PAPER |
European Vocational Skills Week 2022
The 6th European Vocational Skills Week (EVSW) will take place on 16-20 May 2022 with an event organised by the European Commission on 18-19 May 2022.
The initiative is an annual event where local, regional and national organisations showcase the very best of vocational education and training (VET). The specific theme for this year’s 2022 edition is VET and the green transition – in line with the EU’s vision of becoming climate neutral by 2050, as outlined in the European Green Deal.
The Week will put skills at the heart of the green transition. It will focus on the new skills needed to thrive in an environment that protects the Earth’s valuable resources, as well as the role that VET can play to ensure a sustainable transition for all.
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Distortive foreign subsidies: Hansens’s report aligns with Commission’s proposal
The report by the European Parliament Rapporteur, MEP Christophe Hansen (Lux-EPP), on the proposed Regulation against distortive subsidies is generally in line with European Commission’s relevant proposal. Hansen detailed his position during a dedicated Hearing held on 13th January, which FIEC attended along with other business representatives.
Rapporteur Hansen does not intend to lower the procurement thresholds of the original proposal as he considers them to strike “a delicate balance between the ambition to cover a significant number of cases, while allowing the Commission to prioritise its work”. Moreover, he considers that the ex-officio procedure – which allows for any case of foreign financing not covered by the other tools to be investigated – adds security and justifies keeping these thresholds.
The text could be voted in April by the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA).