On 25 March, the High-Level Construction Forum (HLCF) held its annual meeting at the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.
It gathered 130 participants in person and another 105 online from the European Commission, EU countries, the construction industry and non-profits.
This year’s Forum discussed the construction ecosystem’s resilience and current challenges, such as high inflation and skills shortages that have impacted output. Despite these issues, the sector’s strong local and national ties make it less vulnerable to trade disruptions. The construction ecosystem is vital for addressing the housing crisis and essential for achieving Europe’s decarbonization goals ranking second in terms of employment and third in turnover.
Discussions at the Forum included:
- simplifying legislation, standardisation, and harmonisation
- enhancing the single market, particularly for construction-related services
- addressing skill gaps by attracting diverse workforce groups, including women
- leveraging digitalisation to improve productivity, including encouraging the uptake of openBIM by all actors in the value chain
- updating public procurement to focus on green, innovative, and social aspects
- promoting the circular economy by increasing the reuse and recycling of materials and encouraging collaboration
- pushing for offsite construction and industrialisation in both new builds and renovations
The afternoon sessions focused on practical solutions for speeding up building permits, improving the market for secondary construction materials, and facilitating cross-border services.
The Forum also took stock of its ongoing efforts within the transition pathway for the construction ecosystem’s framework, with 83 commitments already made by stakeholders.
In conclusion, attendees reaffirmed their commitment to focus on areas like standardisation, harmonisation, the single market, collaboration, sustainability, digitalisation, and productivity, recognising these as key to strengthening the construction ecosystem.
Inspired by the discussions and progress seen at this year’s Forum? We encourage stakeholders and EU countries to learn more and submit your commitments for action now. Your contributions can help drive further innovation and collaboration within the construction ecosystem. We publish commitments on the official construction transition pathway webpage and may invite contributors to present their work at future HLCF events.
