Construction 2050 Alliance kicks off 2026 with rich agenda and Commission exchanges

On 20 January, EuropeOn joined peers from the Construction 2050 Alliance, a network representing around 60 organisations across the construction value chain, for its first meeting of the year. The session included an important exchange with representatives from the European Commission on priorities for the sector in 2026.

Barbara Bonvissuto, newly appointed Director for Construction, Machinery and Market Surveillance at DG GROW, outlined the Commission’s policy agenda for the construction ecosystem. Discussions focused in particular on the forthcoming EU Affordable Housing Plan and its Housing Construction Strategy, which aims to boost housing supply across the EU.

Director Bonvissuto also shared some concerning figures: labour productivity per hour in construction has declined by 8% since 2019, while the sector continues to lag in digitalisation and faces persistently high costs.

Another key topic was the planned Construction Services Act, expected in 2026. This initiative aims to remove obstacles to cross-border mobility of construction companies. The Commission wants to address:

  • Limited mutual recognition of company-level certificates in areas such as safety, energy efficiency, and environmental compliance;
  • Difficulties in obtaining construction site cards for companies from other Member States;
  • Barriers to recognising qualifications for regulated professions. During the exchange, it seemed the focus was actually on machine operators.

In parallel, the Skills Portability Initiative, led by DG EMPL (the Commission’s Directorate for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion), will look at the mobility of workers. EuropeOn had already engaged with this topic at the last Installers’ Summit, where Head of Unit Anna Bánczyk shared early insights.

During the Alliance meeting, EuropeOn Secretary General Julie Beaufils took the floor to express reservations about separating company and worker mobility, noting that the construction sector is largely made up of very small, local businesses. She also cautioned that cross-border mobility alone will not solve deeper challenges, such as skills shortages and declining productivity. On the contrary, relaxing competency criteria could risk triggering a race to the bottom, just when we need to raise qualification levels to meet new technological and sustainability demands.

The discussion closed on a constructive note, with participants welcoming further dialogue with the Commission. The exchange showed a shared commitment to address structural challenges in the construction ecosystem, while maintaining quality, safety and skills at the heart of EU policy.