Construction & Materials
The construction and materials sector 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.
Faced with growing pressure to renovate homes and reduce energy demand for heating, the European Commission has tabled a proposal to revitalise the EU’s moribund market for construction products. The overhaul of the EU’s Construction Product Regulation (CPR) is the latest in series of legislative recasts aimed at bringing the EU’s laws in line with its climate ambitions. Also, getting as many homes built or renovated as fast as possible has never been more urgent because of the war in Ukraine.
“We need to reduce our dependence on Russian gas. That’s a fact. 34 million Europeans today live in poorly insulated houses,” explained the EU’s internal market commissioner Thierry Breton as he presented a revision of the 2011 Construction Product Regulation (CPR) on 30 March, 2022. Renovating these homes relies on a functioning market for construction products, which is currently riddled with “over-complex and unclear” rules at national level, the EU executive found.