Skills intelligence: FIEC presents view of construction’s employers
On 23 October, Léna Guyon, Policy Officer for Social Affairs, represented FIEC at BusinessEurope’s dissemination “Workshop on Access to Skills“.
This workshop concluded a two-years project that led to the publication of a study on “Access to Skills” released by BusinessEurope in cooperation with nine sectors, including construction.
The study looks at the access to skills from an employer perspective and identifies possible lines for action at European, national and sectoral levels. In the context the study publication, Léna Guyon presented the view of the construction employers, with a focus on the need to identify urgent skills needs and to adapt training offers. She highlighted the work done in the framework of the EU-funded project Construction Blueprint 2 and good practices from the sector.
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Gold-plating under fire: Will Brussels deliver simpler rules for construction?
The fight against regulatory gold-plating is moving up the EU political agenda. In her State of the Union address on 16 September, European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, called for a “Pact against gold-plating”. In a subsequent Letter to Member States of 12 October (ahead of the EU Summit), she urged national governments to be transparent about additional requirements introduced when implementing EU legislation and to remove existing obstacles.
Less burdens and fair competition
Gold-plating occurs when national authorities go beyond the requirements of EU legislation, for example by introducing stricter obligations or additional administrative procedures. For construction companies, these differences can mean more paperwork, higher compliance costs and greater complexity when operating across borders. Tackling unnecessary burdens is therefore essential to improving the functioning of the Single Market and ensuring fair competition.
The Commission is also considering how EU legislation itself can be designed to reduce the risk of gold-plating. The European Commission Communication on a simpler, clearer and better-enforced EU rulebook (April 2026) signals a preference, where appropriate, for exhaustive Regulations rather than Directives in areas of the Single Market.
Simplification to be measured by results
For FIEC, simplification must be measured by results, not by the legal instrument alone. A Regulation can reduce divergent implementation, but it does not automatically guarantee simpler procedures or lower costs. Clear, proportionate and workable rules are essential to reducing unnecessary administrative burdens while preserving the flexibility needed to deliver quality construction projects.
As the Commission and Member States take this agenda forward, FIEC will continue to advocate for a Single Market that works in practice: less unnecessary red tape, greater legal certainty and fairer competition for construction companies of all sizes.
FIEC at the 14th meeting of the ELA Stakeholder Group
On 21 October, FIEC attended the 14th meeting of the European Labour Authority (ELA) Stakeholders’ Group, which took place in Brussels. The meeting was the occasion to discuss past and future ELA’s activities, included Concerted Joint Inspections (CJIs) and forthcoming reports.
The European Commission also presented an update of its activities, and in particular on the Fair Labour Mobility package, which includes a revision of ELA’s mandate.
Participants also discussed the future role that ELA could play towards third-country nationals if the proposed extension of the mandate is confirmed by the European Parliament and the EU Council.
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Project mid-point in Sofia for “Construction Blueprint 2”
Partners from 10 European countries gathered in Sofia for the 4th Transnational Project Meeting of Construction Blueprint 2, an Erasmus+ project working to modernise skills in the construction sector.
Hosted by the Bulgarian Chambers of Commerce and Cleantech, the meeting marked the project’s mid-point milestone and gave the consortium the opportunity to take stock of the past six months and align on the next steps. Partners reviewed key insights from the EU-wide Skills Observatory questionnaire, which gathered valuable data on skills needs across the sector. They also discussed the latest developments on the interactive map of good practices and the training programme, both of which are entering their final phase before launch, targeted at the end of 2026. In parallel, the piloting of the training materials and the programme are progressing well, with testing currently ongoing to finetune the training.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss the progress of the Pact for Skills in Construction within the project framework. The Pact was presented by its coordinators: FIEC, EFBWW (European Federation of Building and Wood Workers) and EBC (European Builders’ Conferederation), with focus on its mid-term report reviewing past and current activities, and establishing the next Action Plan for the second phase of the project.
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European Parliament approves “E-Declaration”
On 20 October, the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved in plenary (with 558 votes in favour, 93 against and 18 abstentions) the agreement reached by the European Parliament and the EU Council on the Regulation establishing a public interface connected to the Internal Market Information System for the declaration of posting of worker (E-Declaration).
The Council will now have to formally approve the agreement before the publication of the Regulation in the EU Official Journal.
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New: Video-interview on public procurement with Gerrit-Jan van de Pol
In this Video of the Month, Gerrit-Jan van de Pol (NL), Chairman of FIEC’s Working Group “Public Procurement”, shares valuable insights into why public procurement is such a key issue for construction companies and EU policymaking.
We thank Gerrit-Jan for his valuable contribution and for helping highlight the importance of public procurement rules that respond to the needs of our industry and support a strong, competitive construction sector in Europe.
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