PUSHING FORWARD THE RESEARCH AGENDA

The forthcoming ECCREDI and E-Core conference “Building for a European Future ‘B4E’” to be held in Maastricht, the Netherlands on 14^th-15^th October will be more than a scientific conference, it will also be a strategic one.  It will consider smart construction, building the future,  strategies for construction research, and strategic alliances.  On each of the two days the technical programme will consist of plenary sessions at which keynote speeches will be given by senior figures from the European Commission, the construction sector, client bodies and the research community.

Parallel sessions will provide opportunities for the presentation of papers and for wide-ranging discussion.  One of the specialist speakers will be Emeritus Professor Roy Severn, a former ICE delegate to ECCE who will speak on the contribution of earthquake engineering research to sustainable development. 

For further information:  http://www.b4e.org/homepage.cfm  

EFCA, ECCE & ACE SEMINAR

Thursday, 21st October 2004

at the Renaissance Hotel, 19 Rue du Parnasse, Brussels

 New EU Public Procurement Directive:

EUROPEAN HARMONISATION OF PROCUREMENT PRACTICES

IN THE SECTOR OF THE ENGINEERING CONSULTANCY AND ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES

ACE, ECCE and EFCA are the three main European organisations representing the architectural and engineering professions.  Together we are organising an important seminar on the impact that the new EU public procurement directives will have on the procurement of architectural and engineering consultancy services.

The seminar is to be a one-day event and it will held in Brussels on the 21^st October 2004.

Public procurement procedures are of great importance to the construction sector. The value of construction to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the EU-15 in 2003 was €909 billion, of which approximately 35% was attributable to public works.  This figure represents about 3.3% of GDP. 

The administrations of most EU Countries are currently preparing to transpose this into National law.  In the process there will be many decisions for them to take as the directives allow for some optional treatment of some of the requirements.  The architectural and engineering professions support the proposed procedures, but the specific nature of the services offered by these professions will require careful consideration in the transposition phase.  This seminar will offer an insight into the thinking of the Commission on the topic and will offer national administrations a clear indication of how architectural and engineering consultancy services should be treated in public procurement procedures.  The seminar will also see the launch of a detailed guidance document by the Architects Council of Europe which recommends how national administrations should deal with the provision of  architectural services.