Απρ242019

 

EU invests €4 billion in infrastructure projects in 10 Member States

On 2nd April, the European Commission agreed to invest in 25 major infrastructure projects (mostly transport infrastructure projects) in 10 Member States as part of EU Cohesion Policy (with funding from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund).

All these projects together represent a total budget of €8 billion with €4 billion from the European Union budget. The projects mainly concern Member States in Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, as well as a project in the former East Germany.

Ahead of the European elections, the European Commission wishes to increase awareness amongst EU citizens about the many actions financed by the EU.

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FIEC meets equipment manufacturers at Bauma

As a result of a tour arranged by CECE, FIEC met construction equipment manufacturers during Bauma.  Sue Arundale, Director of Technical and Environmental affairs participated in CECE’s seminar, during which she launched a Communication on Horizon Europe (see read more).
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More efficient decision making in social policy

Today there are a number of social policy matters where decisions by the Council must be taken with unanimous agreement, with the European Parliament often consulted only. These areas are:
  • non-discrimination based on different grounds (gender, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age, and sexual orientation);
  • social security and social protection of workers (outside cross-border situations);
  • protection of workers against dismissal;
  • representation and collective defence of the interests of workers and employers;
  • conditions of employment for non-EU nationals legally residing in the EU.
In order to make decision making more efficient and fair, to the benefit of citizens, the European Commission is launching a debate on making more use of qualified majority voting (known in the EU jargon as the “passerelle clause”), in particular in the areas of non-discrimination and for the adoption of recommendations on social security and social protection of workers.
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2 April 2019, Berlin – Joint meeting of the HDB and FIEC boards – fruitful discussions on the European elections and the FIEC Manifesto, with a focus on the Construction Products Regulation.