FIEC Newsletter – 4 Ιουλίου 2023

Each year, FIEC publishes its Statistical Report, which gives an insight into construction activity and demonstrates its significance for the economy as a whole.The report analyses 22 countries individually, as well as the European Union as a whole on the basis of the following elements:

For the first time, the report also provides an overview of the evolution of prices for certain construction products.

The texts and data contained within the report are drawn up on the basis of the national reports provided by the FIEC Member Federations.

On 27 June, the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) rejected the proposal for a “Nature Restoration Law”. During the next plenary session, the ENVI will table the proposal to reject the European Commission’s proposal.The European Parliament is expected to take a position, most likely next week in Strasbourg. The Member States already adopted their position on 20 June.

According to a report on the EU’s progress towards climate neutrality published by the European Climate Neutrality Observatory (ECNO) on 26 June, the pace of the green transition is too slow to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 as foreseen in the EU Climate Law.Regarding the renovation of buildings, the report notes that the reduction in emissions in the buildings sector needs to be 7.5 faster.

A first official report of the European Commission on the progress towards climate neutrality is expected to be published in September.

In the context of the High Level Construction Forum (HLCF), the European Commission launched a survey on the provision of services, including potential obstacles, in the construction ecosystem.Discussions among the Commission and Member States on the provision of cross-border construction services led to the identification of several challenges related to the regulation of such services. This survey aims at making the description of these challenges more specific and the issues more tangible.

On 27 June, at their last “trilogue” meeting, the negociators of the 3 EU institutions (Council of the EU, European Parliament and European Commission) reached a political agreement on the revision of the Asbestos at Work Directive.According to the available information, Member States shall immediately apply a maximum occupational exposure limit value (OEL) of 0.01 fibres/cm3. That is, 10 times lower than the current limit. And after maximum 6 years, they shall measure asbestos levels with electron microscopy and choose between 2 options:

While waiting for more information and for the formal approval of the deal by the Council and the European Parliament, FIEC takes note of this political agreement. Workers’ health and safety remains one of the main priorities for construction companies. Therefore, once the revised legislation will be formally adopted, FIEC – together with its national member federations – will focus all efforts on facilitating the implementation of the new provisions and on assessing their practical and financial impact on construction businesses, and in particular, on SMEs.In its previous positions, FIEC had requested that the OEL remains realistic and implementable by construction companies (i.e., not below the 0.01 f/cm3 initially proposed by the European Commission), together with a transition period of at least 5 years, both for the new OEL and for the upgrade to electron microscopy.

On 26 and 27 June the European Alliance for Apprenticeships (EAfA) celebrated its 10 years anniversary during a special high-level event held in Brussels. For two days, policy-makers, experts, and stakeholders discussed the achievements of EAfA and the challenges set for the development of apprenticeships in Europe. Participants exchanged views on how to improve the image of apprenticeships that are key for the twin transition and to tackle labour shortages.

The event took place few days after the adoption of a new Recommendation on Quality Apprenticeships which was finalised during the 111^th International Labour Conference. The Recommendation provides a clear definition of apprenticeships and specifies standards for quality apprenticeships.