Stefano De Marinis, IT

Chairman

“The construction industry is very important to the EU economy. The sector provides 18 million direct jobs and contributes to about 9% of the EU’s GDP. It also creates new jobs, drives economic growth, and provides solutions for social, climate and energy challenges. The goal of the European Commission is to help the sector become more competitive, resource efficient and sustainable.” (DG GROW). Following Commission VP Tajani’s preview at the FIEC Congress 2012 in Istanbul, actions were addressed in the High-Level Forum, 5 Thematic Groups and studies: 1 Stimulate investment; 2 Skills & Qualifications; 3 Sustainable use of natural resources; 4 Internal Market; 5: International competitiveness.
Currently, discussions focus on priorities for a possible follow-up action from 2020.”

Why FIEC is dealing with this issue/topic and their objective(s)
This is the only EU action specifically focusing on the the construction sector and its stakeholders in a holistic manner, across the different Commission DGs involved. Consequently, FIEC and its national Member Federations contributed actively to all actions, discussions and studies. Despite all positive results, further improvement is necessary, both concerning the coordination of various DGs and the choice of priorities. For this reason, the FIEC Manifesto asks for a Commission VP mandated to ensure such coordination. Concerning the priorities, FIEC and their colleagues from other European federations participating in the European Construction Forum are developing a set of requests and recommendations for the attention of the Commission and other EU institutions.

Actions and ket dates
21/02/2019 - Workshop on possible EU actions to support the internationalisation of SMEs from the European construction sector in third markets
04/04/2019 - High Level Forum Meeting


High Level Forum meeting on 4/4/2019, Brussels (© European Commission)