FIEC Newsletter -26 Νοεμβρίου 2024

On 21 November, FIEC participated in the Plenary Meeting of the European Platform tackling undeclared Work, in its quality of observer.Among the various topics addressed, participants took stock of the added-value of peer-learning activities and site visits to assess innovative solutions deployed by national inspectorates. They exchange views about the activities planned in 2025, including the forthcoming 10 year-anniversary of the platform. Speakers from the ELA (European Labour Authority) presented the outcomes of the latest communication campaigns, which are becoming a benchmark within the EU institutions. The next campaign is dedicated to social security rules in the framework of intra-EU mobility.

At this occasion, EFBWW (European Federation of Builders and Wood Workers) presented – on behalf of both EFBWW and FIEC – the state of play of the EU-funded Social Dialogue project SIDE-CIC, which is aimed at mapping the existing social ID cards in the construction sector and assessing their interconnectivity. Sectoral social ID cards have a key role to play in fighting against undeclared work and social fraud.

On 19 November in Milan, the European Investment Bank (EIB) convened a technical workshop with financial institutions, policy makers, industrial leaders and technical experts to discuss solutions aimed at increasing support to affordable and sustainable housing in Europe. Invited on behalf of FIEC, Mr. Flavio Monosilio, Director of Research Office at ANCE (Associazione Nazionale Costruttori Edili, our Italian member), declared: “A European Affordable Housing Plan must provide simple rules and a defined timeline, non-penalising taxation and long-term financial instruments. Innovation in the housing sector requires market stabilisation. The continuous up and down trends make it difficult for businesses to invest in the future.”The EIB Group has made stepping up investment in social infrastructure and, in particular, the provision of affordable and sustainable housing, a priority. In the meantime, housing has been confirmed as a top priority on the European Commission’s political agenda for 2024-2029. The President of the Commission announced plans to develop a first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan, plans to revise state aid rules and to double the planned cohesion policy investments in affordable housing.

Given the strong focus on mobilising public and private investments, the EIB and the Commission have announced to work together on a pan-European investment platform for affordable and sustainable housing.

As key stakeholder in the production of new housing and renovation of existing housing, FIEC is willing to actively contribute to the ongoing brainstorming on how to increase the supply of affordable and sustainable housing in the EU.

The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) recast entered into force in May 2024 after years of intense negotiations. It aims at significantly reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and final energy consumption in the buildings sector by 2030 and setting a long-term vision for a climate neutral EU buildings sector by 2050. The Directive mandates Member States to define a pathway to progressively reduce the “global warming potential” of buildings over their life cycle and to implement a common framework for calculating the energy performance of buildings.

An EPBD Implementation Guide for public and private stakeholders was published by Efficient Buildings Europe earlier this month, to answer the first and most pressing questions with existing best practice examples. It will help to facilitate and accelerate the work on national level by explaining the amended aspects of the EBPD.

The document complements future European Commission Guidelines, which are expected to be presented in Spring 2025.

On 19-20 November 2024, the MOBICCON-PRO project partners met in Brussels, marking the 2-year milestone of this ambitious Horizon Europe-funded initiative. The meeting provided an opportunity to review progress, share knowledge, and outline plans for the next stages of the project.The first day was dedicated to the General Assembly where partners presented detailed updates on the progress achieved and engaged in discussions about the next objectives and steps. As the project moves into its next phases, the partners focused on upcoming training sessions, further pilot demonstrations, and continued collaboration with policymakers to support legislative changes that promote sustainable practices in the construction sector.

On the second day, the partners visited a recycling facility of construction demolition waste (CDW) outside Brussels. Participants learnt more about the innovative processes used to collect, sort, and recycle CDW into valuable resources.