Kerstin Jorna, DG GROW’s Director General, on Ukraine at meeting of FIEC’s DGs
The focus of the discussions was the impact of the war in Ukraine on the EU Internal Market and in particular on the construction industry.
Mrs. Jorna described the current monitoring initiatives of the European Commission, as well as the medium and longer term interventions foreseen.
On their side the representatives of FIEC highlighted with specific examples the serious consequences that the significant increases in prices of construction products and materials, as well as the diruptions in the supply chains, are having on construction activities.
An increasing number of companies are reluctant to submit bids in public tenders and on-going worksites are stopped. At the same time clients postpone their investment or suspend on-going contracts.
The situation is putting at risk the implementation of the Recovery and Resilience plans, as well as the achievement of the main EU environmental objectives. Action is urgently needed both at the EU and national level.
“The cooperation between the Commission and FIEC is crucial to allow us to adequately address the on-going concerns, challenges and opportunities, as well as to jointly define the right framework for the construction ecosystem” said Kerstin Jorna.
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Coordination of social security systems at a glance – 2021 Statistical Report
Free movement of persons would not be possible without the guarantee that citizens do not lose their social security protection when moving to another country in Europe. The common rules to coordinate the different national systems of social security cover anyone who moves to another country to settle permanently, work temporarily or study, and even those who are travelling to take a holiday.
The 2021 Statistical Report published by the European Commission focuses on the most recent developments in light of the COVID-19 pandemic which strongly reduced intra-EU mobility in 2020. The report explains to what extend the pandemic has impacted the coordination of social security systems.
It has namely been observed that the number of posted workers decreased by 25% during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Wonderworld: a document series by FNTP – Watch Episode 4
FIEC’s French member federation, Fédération Nationale des Travaux Publics (FNTP) has launched a documentary series named ‘’Wonderworld’’, an ambitious action aimed at promoting the construction sector and its impact on the world.The four episodes cast light on four great technological and human adventures. The videos – released in French by FNTP on its website and YouTube channel – were presented with great success during the Forum of Public Works (Forum de Travaux Publics) held in Paris on 24 February 2022.
EPISODE 4: LE PAS DE TIR DE ARIANE 6 (The launch pad of Ariane 6)
The space race has intensified over the last 10 years. Newcomers, new actors and operators in space, are shaking up historical players who have to reinvent themselves. The historic Ariane rocket launch site is in Kourou (French Guiana). In this place a revolution sees the light of day through the construction site of the “Pas de Tir d’Ariane 6” (the launch pad of the rocket): from the operations centres to the bowels of the launch pad, this 4th episode takes us in the conquest of space.
To know more about the series, visit FNTP website.
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