FIEC Newsletter – 26 Απριλίου 2022

Let us underline that Switzerland is one of the countries that have accompanied the history of FIEC since our early days with 3 Swiss Presidents.

On the occasion of this 125th Anniversary, the President of the Swiss federation, Gian-Luca Lardi will be hosting a special programme celebrating their “anniversary days” from 5 to 10 May 2022 in the training centre of Sursee which is also celebrating its 50th anniversary. Over the decades our Swiss federation has continuously adapted with excellence to the major evolutions of our sector, helping its members to face the new challenges of digitalisation, digital learning among others.  The Campus of Sursee is a good example thereof as it is also hosting a state-of-the-art Technology Lab focusing on BIM training/ upskilling.

Click on the link below for further information on this anniversary and to discover the interesting testimonies of 125 persons on the importance of the construction sector in Switzerland, focusing on the future !

On 19 April, the two EU Social partners representing the construction industry met at high level, in person again, after the COVID crisis.
Representatives from the two Boards had the opportunity to discuss about the war in Ukraine and its many impacts on the EU construction industry.
They also shared views about their common priority topics and how to further strengthen the social dialogue of the construction industry at EU level.
FIEC President Thomas Bauer welcomed the resuming of this “in-person” gathering and called for its continuation on a regular basis.

On the occasion of the last FIEC Steering Committee meeting held on 20 April, our President Thomas Bauer paid tribute to Jean-Louis Marchand for the award of his FIEC Honorary Presidency.

Following his mandate as FIEC Vice-President responsible for the Economic and Legal Commission from 2014 to 2016, Mr. Marchand was elected FIEC President for a two years mandate until 2018.

During his presidency, he initiated the transition of FIEC into a new modern organisation better adapted to a challenging and ever-changing environment. While managing this profound evolution of our European federation, he has worked continuously to maintain the commitment of all FIEC member countries as they are the backbone of FIEC and therefore its main support to enable it to act as the voice of all construction contractors towards the EU institutions.

The Council has adopted its fifth package of sanctions against Russia. The sanctions package is expected to have an impact on EU industry, in particular on the prices of energy and certain raw materials. The import of all forms of coal from Russia – which accounts for roughly 45% of the EU’s coal imports – has been banned. Import bans on raw materials have been extended. These include wood and cement.

In addition, Russian-operated vessels will no longer be able from accessing EU ports and Russian freight road operators are banned from working in the EU.

The sanctions package will also include the exclusion of Russian bidders from public contracts and access to European money. Russian nationals and entities are barred from participating in procurement processes in the EU, unless in cases where there is no viable alternative to these bidders.