A planned communication of the European Commission aims to show changes in the construction industry and its sustainable development objectives.
In July the European Commission published a consultation on the preparation of a “European Communication on the sustainable competitiveness of the construction sector and its enterprises”. EBC had taken part in a preparatory study advocating the need to focus the competitiveness of the sector on its SMEs and tradesmen.
The Communication will show recent market, regulatory and policy progresses and also give information about the sector’s status in sustainable development objectives. The Communication also aims to present a series of initiatives that should help construction enterprises to better achieve sustainable development objectives and to better coordinate other European initiatives which are supporting the sector.
Stakeholders are now asked to answer to the consultation and to give their view on the challenges of the construction sector. The European Commission is especially interested in receiving suggestions of new policy measures and possible mechanisms that should be put in place to address the challenges encountered by the construction sector. The impact of the economic crisis on the structure and operation of the sector is put forward in the consultation as well as the question of how enterprises are adapting to changing conditions related to the labour markets and possibilities for a faster development of “greening” the market.
FMB RESPONSE
Looking for feedback and contributions from its national member federations, EBC sent out a request to which the FMB promptly replied. Among the most important elements highlighted by the FMB, the main areas of concern to the UK SME construction include the need for a lightweight business environment for SMEs to operate, improved measures to support the transition towards low carbon environment and the need to improve overall professional skills.
Received contributions from stakeholders will form the basis of this planned communication of the Commission which will be published later this year.
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