Engineering Europe n° 04 - 2025
EFCA - European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations
EFCA is the only federation to represent the engineering consultancy industry in Europe.
EFCA partners?with EIC and EIB on Strategic Procurement
During discussions last week with the EIB Procurement Team and European International Contractors (EIC) on Collaborative Delivery Models (CDM), EFCA President Inés Ferguson highlighted the key role of consulting engineers in shaping quality and sustainability criteria. She added that quality services make investments safer and more attractive to the European value chain. The meeting then explored how CDM aligns with EIB’s shift toward strategic procurement, promoting sustainability and a level playing field for European firms both in the EU and third countries. EIC presented its draft report on CDM, while Jaap de Koning, EFCA’s Internal Market Committee Chair, presented the experience of Rijkwaterstaat as a public investor in The Netherlands using a two-phase Early Contractor Involvement model. This approach sees the design team - led by consulting engineers - taking responsibility for the design, directly for the client. As for CDM in general, this makes sense in very specific circumstances, where key conditions are met. These are typically those large and complex projects, where there is a contracting unit with the capacity to manage sophisticated procurement methods.
"Moving forward together: A bolder, simpler,?faster Union"
After a long wait, the detailed Commission Work Programme was published last week. The sweeping set of long-awaited measures, from those aimed at reducing red tape to new policies and legislation, look very promising for the consulting engineering sector. New initiatives will tackle?climate mitigation, circularity, resilience and?the AI revolution, while simplification measures should lighten the regulatory burden. Engineers will be at the forefront in terms of providing solutions that meet the broad aims of the new programme.?EFCA's first?analysis has identified work for its Internal Market, Digitalisation and BIM, and Green Deal Committees as?well as for the newly established Working Groups on Procurement and Competitiveness and AI and Data, and the Water Resilience group that will follow up EFCA's position paper on the Blue Deal, published last year. Together with the EFCA Board and members, the team in Brussels is preparing for?a busy and exciting year ahead!
Changes to Taxonomy look relevant for sector
In the context of simplification of rules and the effective implementation of the current legislation announced by the Commission, EFCA replied to a call for feedback on the topic of Taxonomy. The Platform on Sustainable Finance (PSF), a Commission advisory body, recently published a draft report on recommendations for the revision of the technical criteria of activities already included in the Taxonomy, as well as for the addition of new activities. Our Green Deal Committee welcomes?the recognition by the PSF of the different stakeholders in the regulatory framework, particularly the inclusion of architects and engineers in its proposals. Other topics addressed in our feedback?include?the harmonisation of the EU Taxonomy with the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, proxy certification systems and the life cycle Global Warming Potential. Together with our?members, we will continue to follow the topic of Taxonomy throughout?2025 as this is set to become?more relevant for our sector.