MOBICCON-PRO Project: General Assembly
The latest General Assembly of the Horizon Europe funded project MOBICCON-PRO (“Mobile and Innovative Circularity for Construction Products”) took place on 28-29 May in Sofia. The event was hosted by the project coordinator, the largest construction group in Bulgaria, Glavbolgarstroy Holding AD, and brought together the project consortium for in-depth discussions and presentations on the milestones achieved in the last eighteen months.In addition to discussions on the Construction and Demolition Waste management process, on the industry training and communication activities, the participants visited the demolition site of the German Embassy in Sofia and the Mobile Pilot Plant currently under construction on the outskirts of Sofia as one of the key milestones of the projects.
The ongoing collaboration and commitment of all partners involved in the MOBICCON-PRO project is paving the way for a significant progress in creating a more sustainable construction sector in the EU.
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France and Germany adopt ‘competitiveness’ guidelines to set EU agenda
In a joint declaration last week, Germany and France have proposed a new agenda for the promotion of competitiveness and growth in the European Union.The agenda plans to boost EU growth and competitiveness, aiming for climate neutrality and leadership in green and digital technologies. Both governments advocate for a strong trade policy, completion of the EU Green Deal, and enhanced defense integration, with support for innovation, investment, and improved regulations.
The joint document lists some key actions to be taken to achieve these goals, covering a wide range of sectors. These include removing unjustified barriers to the Single Market and promoting “better regulation” to cut red tape for European businesses.
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European Sustainable Energy Week: 11-13 June
From 11 to 13 June, the European Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) will bring together public authorities, private companies, NGOs and consumers to promote initiatives accelerating decarbonisation through green technologies and solutions towards a fair and just transition for people and competitive businesses.The EUSEW Policy Conference is the biggest conference dedicated to renewables and efficient energy use in Europe. The 18th edition of the Policy Conference will take place in a hybrid format (in Brussels and online) on 11-13 June 2024.
You can register on the EUSEW website via the below tab.
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NEW! Online in Ukrainian language: FIEC & EIC Manifesto for Action – EU Term 2024-2029
The Ukrainian language version of FIEC and EIC Construction Manifesto for Action – EU term 2024-2029, “Building a resilient and sustainable Europe together“, is now available online at this link.
Ahead of the European Elections that will take place in June 2024, our 10 key messages to the candidates are set out to deliver FIEC’s vision for the future of construction in Europe. Discover what matters for the sector over the next 5 years.
Download the e-leaflet (Manifesto ‘in brief’ in English) from the icon you see under the cover page of the Manifesto or by clicking on the hyperlinked cover page (below image).
As announced already during the launch of the Manifesto, this digital publication is available online in other 10 language versions (11 with the new one in Ukrainian): French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Slovakian, Greek, Romanian, Finnish and (NEW!) Ukrainian “БУДУЄМО ЖИТТЄЗДАТНУ ТА СТАБІЛЬНУ ЄВРОПУ РАЗОМ“.
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FIEC becomes Ambassador of “Water Wise EU” campaign
The campaign aims to raise awareness of the increasing stress placed on Europe’s water systems and to spotlight the many available solutions to tackle issues related to water. ‘See water differently’ is the campaign slogan with the hashtag #WaterWiseEU.
The campaign was formally launched at the EU Green Week on water resilience, which took place on 29 and 30 May, and it will run until the end of September.
FIEC is a strong supporter of the idea of a European Blue Deal, as it believes that more water resilience is urgently needed in the EU.
At the EU Green Week, the European Commission and the Belgian EU Presidency stressed that the water cycle is broken and that more investment in water resilience is needed in the next EU budget. The incoming Hungarian Presidency stressed that water is not only a natural resource, but also a social and economic resource, and that investing in water means investing in industrial competitiveness. FIEC fully shares these views.
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Update on “Late Payments”
At the Competitiveness Council on 24 May, the proposal for a revision of the Directive on “Late payments” received only a brief update.In a prior working group held on 16 May, most Member States viewed transforming the Directive into a Regulation positively but raised concerns about the complexity of trilogues, and suggested the European Commission might withdraw the proposal. They favored greater contractual freedom in payment periods without concrete suggestions, found national maximum payment periods complex and supported removing supervisory authorities. Some Member States called for a new impact assessment.
The issue will be revisited under the Hungarian Presidency starting from 1 July.