NEWSLETTER Consiglio Architetti
Europa - n° 3-04
Wednesday 10th March 2004
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INTRODUCTION
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Welcome to the third issue in 2004 of ACE
Info, the monthly update from the Architects' Council of
Europe that will give you, at a glance, information on current
issues, highlighting emerging areas of activity and informing
you of matters of interest in the field of architectural
policy. This issue is also available in French.
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CORE ISSUES
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PROPOSAL FOR A DIRECTIVE ON SERVICES
IN THE INTERNAL MARKET (SIM)
Given the particular importance of this proposal (see ACE
Info 1-04) for the architectural profession, the ACE has
established a Special Working Group (SIM-WG) to address
the issues raised and to guide the ACE policy in relation
to it. The first meeting of the SIM-WG took place recently
and recommendations for further analysis of the proposed
text have been made which include the appointment of several
rapporteurs on specific topics such as Codes of Conduct,
Tariffs, Quality Policy and parallel OECD work have been
issued.
The SIM-WG also undertook to include in its work the analysis
of the Commission Communication on “Competition in
Professional Services” (see ACE Info 2-04). The ACE
sees a very close link between the two initiatives of the
Commission, although they emerge from separate Directorates
General, and so their treatment by one group allows for
the proper identification of common themes.
THEMATIC STRATEGY ON THE URBAN
ENVIRONMENT
Following the publication of the Communication on the Thematic
Strategy on the Urban Environment the ACE Taskforce on the
Environment and Sustainable Architecture and the Taskforce
on Urban Issues have started an analysis that will lead
to the submission of extensive comments from the ACE on
the Communication. The deadline for receipt of comments
by the Commission is the 15th April 2004 and the consultation
is open to all.
For further information consult the following site:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/urban/thematic_strategy.htm
EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM FOR
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
The ACE has been involved in the early work on the proposal
to establish a European Technology Platform for the Built
Environment. A core group of stakeholders, drawn from large
contracting firms, consultancies, research institutes and
material producers, meet with Officials from the Commission
(DG Research) to discuss progress on the proposal. The Commission
was impressed by the level of motivation displayed by the
participants and by the clear mobilisation of the industry
that it has achieved. It encouraged the work to continue
and endorsed the objectives on the core group. The Commission
also underlined the importance of mapping the full list
of stakeholders that will eventually have to contribute
to the Platform. A further working meeting with the Commission,
to monitor progress, was arranged for early April. The target
date for the launch of the Platform is the 13th October
in Maastricht, in conjunction with the B4E Conference (see
Events section below).
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OTHER MATTERS
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DG ENVIRONMENT DATABASE
The DG Environment of the Commission has launched a database
on the environmental aspects of products and services that
is now available for consultation. Its aim is to supply
some basic environmental information to corporate and public
purchasers to help them to take into account environmental
aspects in their procurement. The database can be consulted
at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/green_purchasing/
The Commission have also invited comments or suggestions
from users to be sent to them at:
env-products-database@cec.eu.int
DATABASES ON THE PROFESSION IN
EUROPE
The CNAPPC (Italy), one of the Member Organisations of the
ACE, has been hosting a database on architects education
and the architectural profession in Europe since May 2000.
The CNAPPC is currently updating it to ensure that it is
accurate. It is available in Italian, French and English
and can be consulted at:
http://www.archieuro.archiworld.it
A second database on the same subject that covers a wider
geographical scope is hosted on the COAC (Spain) site. It
was prepared some years ago as part of an initiative of
the UIA (International Union of Architects). It is available
in Catalan, Spanish, French and English and can be consulted
at:
http://www.coac.net/internacional/default_w.html
REPORT ON TREATMENT OF THIRD COUNTRY
CITIZENS
Following a request by the Commission, in the context of
the on-going negotiations in the WTO and GATS, the ACE has
prepared a provisional report on the manner in which each
of the countries of the EU treat holders of qualifications
from countries outside of the EU. Specifically the Commission
were interested to know if the Member States treat EU Citizens
holding third country qualifications differently to citizens
of third countries holding such qualifications. The report
is not complete, but has been submitted to the Commission
and can be requested from the ACE Secretariat at:
Info@ace-cae.org
ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY DIRECTIVE
Following a conciliation procedure, the European Parliament
and the Council have reached agreement on the proposed directive
on environmental liability. This agreement paves the way
for a swift adoption of the text. The directive will be
the first Community legislative instrument specifically
based on the so-called “polluter pays” principle.
It will guarantee the prevention and repair of damage caused
to the environment (fauna, flora, natural habitats, water
resources, soil) and will hold those who cause the damage
responsible. For more details consult the following site:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/environment/liability/
BATIBOUW
On the occasion of the major Belgian building exhibition
known as “Batibouw”, the organisers arranged
a series of round table discussions on issues of current
interest. Among these was a round-table discussion on the
architectural profession which took as its starting point
the complaint issued against the Belgian Order of Architects
(CNOA) about its publication of an indicative scales of
fees on its website. Participants in the panel included
the Ms. Dominique Body, President of the CNOA, Ms. Sabine
Laruelle, the Minister for the Middle Classes and Agriculture
(responsible for the profession of architecture), Ms. Sandra
De Waele, Commission Official dealing with the complaint
against the CNOA, Mr. Gruteman, President of the Belgian
Federation of General Contractors, Mr. Geert Coene, representing
Belgian Consumers and Mr. Adrian Joyce, Senior Adviser with
the ACE. All parties to the discussion found it useful and
the Minister undertook to pursue the initiative with further
talks at her Ministry.
ASBESTOS NO LONGER COVERED BY PROFESSIONAL
INDEMNITY INSURANCE
Through the RIAI, our Irish Member Organisation, we have
learnt that standard professional indemnity insurance for
architects no longer covers the discovery of asbestos or
any possible consequent injury or claim. This is the case
in all countries across the globe. Any further information
on this ban would be welcome.
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EVENTS
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NEW FRONTIERS
A major exhibition of paintings from the 10 Accession States
is due to be held at the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
from the 3rd March until the 30th May 2004. The exhibition
is timed to coincide with the enlargement of the EU and
will display paintings from the period 1850 to 1950 and
its objective is to demonstrate that each of the 10 countries
have fully participated and shared in Europe’s rich
cultural heritage.
EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURS DAY
Tuesday 25th May 2004 has been announced as European Neighbours
Day for 2004. This event is an initiative of a partnership
featuring URBACT and Immeubles en Fete and it is a community-based
event that aims to break down the barriers that exist between
neighbours and bringing back a community spirit to housing
estates and developments. The initiative is now in its 6th
year and was originally confined to France. However, in
2003 14 countries took part and it is hoped that this year
will see even more countries participating. Full details
of the event are available at:
http://www.european-neighbours-day.com
EUROPEAN SYMPOSIUM ON RESEARCH
IN ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN DESIGN (EURAU)
The first EURAU will be held in the Marseilles School of
Architecture from the 12th to the 14th May 2004. It is being
organised by the Architecture and Heritage Department of
the French Ministry for Culture and Communication and supported
by the European Association of Architectural Education (EAAE).
The event is an opportunity to discuss the position of doctoral
studies as well as the harmonisation of doctoral programmes
and degrees in architecture throughout Europe further to
the Bologna Process. More details at:
http://www.culture.fr/eurau2004
ARCHITECTURAL POLICY AND THE ACHIEVEMENT
OF QUALITY
The Irish Presidency of the EU, in the context of the European
Forum for Architectural Policies – an informal inter-governmental
network in which the ACE is an active participant –
is organising a major Seminar that will explore how the
adoption of Government Policies on Architecture can positively
influence the quality of the built environment. Places at
the Seminar are very limited and registration must take
place before the 18th March. The event will take place on
the 16th April 2004 at Dublin Castle, the main venue for
European meetings during the Irish Presidency. Further information
on Seminar and on the Irish Government Policy on Architecture
can be accessed at:
www.actiononarchitecture.com
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PUBLICATIONS
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WHITE BOOK ON ARCHITECTURE –
FRENCH COMMUNITY OF BELGIUM
On the initiative of the French Community of Belgium and
La Cambre, School of Architecture, a “White Book”
entitled “Qui a Peur de l’Architecture”
was launched on the 10th March in Brussels. It is one follow
up to the Council Resolution on the Quality of the Urban
and Rural Environment, which highlighted the importance
of architecture to the life of the citizens of the EU. The
ISBN of the book is 2-87317-233-9.
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USEFUL LINKS
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EUROPEAN COMMISSION HOMEPAGE
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm
SEARCH PAGE FOR COMMISSION DOCUMENTS
http://www.europa.eu.int/prelex/rech_simple.cfm?CL=en
WEBSITE OF THE IRISH PRESIDENCY
http://www.eu2004.ie/
COMMISSION CONSULTATION ON PUBLIC PROCUREMENT
http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/pubproc/index_en.htm
SUSTAINABLE BUILDING WEBSITE
www.sustainablebuilding.info
B4E CONFERENCE INFORMATION
http://www.b4e.org
COAC INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DATABASE:
http://www.coac.net/internacional/default_w.html
CNAPPC DATABASE – ARCHIEUROPE:
http://www.archieuro.archiworld.it
ACE WEBSITE
http://www.ace-cae.org
USEFUL TIP:
In the website addresses given in ACE Info for the documents
of the EU, you will frequently see the following near the
end of the address: “_en”. These two letters
define the language of the document (English in the case
of “en”) and you can usually change these two
letters in order to bring you to a different language version
as follows:
French _fr German _de Danish _da
Italian _it Spanish _es Greek _el
Dutch _nl Portuguese _pt Finnish _fi Swedish _sv
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EDITOR’S NOTE
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The editorial board for the compilation of
ACE Info is:
The ACE President: Leopoldo Freyrie
The Secretary General of the ACE: Alain Sagne
Senior Advisor to the ACE: Adrian Joyce
ACE Info is normally 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 do not wish 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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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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The editorial board wishes to acknowledge
the sources of information for this issue of ACE Info which
include the Euractiv website (www.euractiv.com),
Bulletin Quotidien Europe, the RIAI (www.riai.ie)
and Jean-Marie Fauconnier.
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adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org
– Comments and contributions welcome
