NEWSLETTER Consiglio Architetti
Europa - n° 1-03
ACE INFO 1-03
The monthly electronic note from the Architects Council
of Europe
A topical update on current issues and news.
Wednesday 8th October 2003
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EDITORIAL
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Welcome to the first issue of ACE Matters, the monthly update
from the Architects Council of Europe that will give you,
at a glance, an update on current issues, highlight emerging
areas of activity and inform you of
matters of interest that the ACE has learnt of in the last
month.
This document takes up the earlier initiatives of the ACE
which resulted in similar publications, entitled ACE Bulletin
and ACE Flash. It will be issued on the second Wednesday
of each month. You are free to circulate
the document as widely as you wish, to translate its contents
for use in your publications and to refer to the information
it contains once you credit the ACE as the origin.
If you wish not to receive this monthly document, then please
e-mail info@ace-cae.org requesting
to be removed from the list.
If you have information that you wish to have included in
the next issue then e-mail it (in English or French please)
to adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org
Deadline for submissions is the first Friday of each month.
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CORE ISSUES
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QUALIFICATIONS DIRECTIVE
The proposal to adopt a single directive on professional
recognition continues its journey through the co-decision
process with continued uncertainty about when it will be
adopted. At a recent meeting (iith September) the JURI Committee
indicated that there is a willingness for compromise between
the various groups on the tabled amendments. It was therefore
anticipated that a vote in the JURI Committee will take
place in November 2003 with the First Reading in Parliament
in January 2004.
More recently, soundings have been received that indicate
that the Parliament will try to accelerate the programme
set out during the discussions at the September meeting.
Indications from the Council are that there is strong political
will to ensure the passage of the Directive before the Parliamentary
Elections in June 2004. As the Parliament rises in April
2004, we can expect that this issue will remain of central
importance to the ACE over the coming months.
URBAN THEMATIC FRAMEWORK
The SCMT Workgroup (one of four expert Workgroups set up
by the Commission to advise it on the proposed framework),
Chaired by the ACE, has delivered its interim report to
the EU Commission. This expert group, Chaired by Livia Tirone,
held its last meeting in early September and is now working
to finalise the report for the deadline of 31st October.
A first Communication from DG Environment on the emerging
Urban Thematic Startegy is expected before the end of 2003
with the Strategy itself due to be elaborated during 2004
for presentation to Parliament and Council by June 2005.
RESTRUCTURING OF THE ACE
With the emlargement of the EU and of the membership of
the ACE just a few months away, work continues on the deliberations
of the implications on the ACE structures and constitution.
An important meeting of the
Re-structuring Workgroup is scheduled to take place on 10th
October 2003 in the ACE Offices in Brussels. It is essential
that the points of view of all Member Organisations and
existing Observer Member Organisations
are represented at this important meeting as it is imperative
that a position is prepared for the General Assembly in
November. More information: http://www.ace-cae.org/Members/fsMemberNetwork_EN.html
PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
The legislative package on Public Procurement has
passed the Second Reading in the EU Parliament and is now
in the Conciliation Procedure. There is deadlock at the
moment between the sides as the Commission wants the amendment
relating to the question of competitive dialogue, tabled
by the British, to be withdrawn, but the Parliament has
not shown any willingness to do this. This means that there
is still the prospect that the entire package will be withdrawn
by the Commission. In any event a final resolution on the
package must now be reached before the end of January 2004.
PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
The Green Paper on PPP that was originally intended to be
published by the DG Internal Market will not now be published
until March 2004 at the earliest. The ACE Taskforce on PPP
will be ready to comment on its contents when it is published.
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EVENTS
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ACE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The second General Assembly of 2003 will take in Brussels
on 14th and 15th November 2003. A number of important issues
will be dealt with at the Assembly, not least of which is
the election of a new Executive Board
as the two-year mandate of the current Board runs out on
31st December 2003. More information: www.ace-cae.org
(Members area)
REGULATION IN THE LIBERAL PROFESSIONS
A conference at DG Competition is to take place on 28th
October 2003 with the title of "Regulation in the Liberal
Professions". The President of the ACE will be making
a presentation and it is expected that the proceedings of
the conference will be informative on a range of issues
including emerging EU Competition Policy and the Internal
Market Strategy for Services.
EUROPEAN FORUM FOR ARCHITECTURAL POLICIES
The Steering Group of the Forum is holding its next meetng
in Bari, Italy
on 30th and 31st October 2003. Among the matters it will
discuss are
upcoming events being organised under the Italian, Irish
and Dutch
Presidencies of the EU.
URBAN I OUTCOMES
A Conference on the outcome of URBAN 1 projects is to be
held in Milan on 6th November 2003, following a meeting
of the current EU Programme URBACT on the 5th November in
Milan. The ACE will be represented at the Conference by
the Chair of the Taskforce on Urban Issues, Antonio Borghi.
E-CORE WORKSHOP
An E-CORE Workshop (European Construction Research Network)
on the Sixth Framework Programme is to be held in Warsaw
on the 6th and 7th November 2003. Livia Tirone, Chair of
the Taskforce on the Environment and Sustainable Architecture
will be making a presentation on behalf of the ACE at the
Workshop. More information: http://www.e-core.org/frames/index_workshops_oct03.html
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OTHER MATTERS
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BENCHMARKER ENQUIRY
A web-based enquiry on the use of Information Technology
(IT) within the construction sector has been launched by
ProdAEC (a thematic network for the European Architecture,
Engineering and Construction industry). It is a free service
and by taking part in the enquiry you will be able to access
a confidential report that compares your responses with
others in the industry. It is available in nine european
languages and is accessed at www.prodaec.net/
K67 - THE KIOSK SHOTS
The ACE has learnt of the this project which is being publicised
as a European Project between public space and politics.
The project analyses the influence of socialist planned
economies on the spreading of a design which was significant
for the public space of Eastern European countries and which
is now one of the few remaining visible signs of a vanished
social union. The project aims to compile photographs of
the remaining intact examples of the standard K67 Kiosk,
designed by the Slovenian architect Sasa J Maechtig and
used all over Eastern Europe for a variety of purposes.
More information (you can actually take part if you wish):
www.publicplan.com/k67/
CE MARKING OF CONSTRUCTION PRODUCTS
There is little confidence in CE marking of products, particularly,
it seems, in the construction sector. There has been a very
slow take-up of the provisions of the Construction Products
Directive (adopted in 1989) with the first CE marked products
only beginning to appear on the market around now. Recently
problems have begun to emerge in relation to products that
carry both the CE mark and a Voluntarty mark, causing confusion
in the marketplace. A position paper on the topic has been
issued by FIEC (European Construction Industry Federation)
which can be downloaded at www.fiec.org
The ACE would be interested to hear of the experiences of
architects on this topic.
EU CONSTITUTION
A group of eight NGO's under the banner of "GREEN 8"
have called on the EU Parliament to "greenify"
the EU Constitution. They have warned the Parliament that
in their view the draft EU Constitution does not meet the
Union's sustainable development objective. They have called
on the Parliament to annexe a protocol on sustainable development,
underline the importance of the Union Institutions being
accountable to EU Citizens and to update part III of the
draft Constitution to make the "sustainability"
principle coherent. The ACE is considering whether or not
to add its weight to the idea of adding an annexe on sustainable
development to the Constitution that could include a call
for the inclusion of a fundamental right for all EU Citizens
to a quality and healthy built environment.
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PUBLICATIONS
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PARTNERING IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
We have been informed that a book is to be published entitled
"Partnering and Alliancing in the Construction Industry"
by LLP Professional Publishing in London. It brings together
leading construction industry and legal experts to discuss
key elements of the partnering process and the foreward
is written by HHJ Humphrey LLoyd, Head of Delegation and
Chairman of the ARB. Copies can be ordered by sending an
e-mail to sarah.john@informa.com
The cost is EUR228.00 per copy.
INDUSTRY AND ENVIRONMENT REVIEW
A double issue of this review, published by the UNEP (United
Nations Environmental Programme) has just been published.
It concentrates on sustainable building and construction
issues, makes good reading and is available in pdf format
at the following address:
www.unepie.org/media/review/vol26no2-3/voL26_no2-3.htm
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adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org
- Compiliation and editing
Adrian M Joyce
Senior Adviser
adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org
Architects' Council of Europe
rue P.E. Janson, 29
1050 Brussels
Tel : + 32 2 543 11 40
Fax : + 32 2 543 11 41
info@ace-cae.org
www.ace-cae.org
