NEWSLETTER Consiglio Architetti
Europa - n° 5-06
English language version
The monthly electronic note from the Architects’
Council of Europe
__________________________________________
INTRODUCTION
__________________________________________
Welcome to the fifth issue in 2006 of ACE
Info, the regular update from the Architects' Council of
Europe (ACE) 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.
____________________________________
Core Issues
____________________________________
Concern Over the Transposition
of the Qualifications Directive
The ACE is concerned about the transposition of the Qualifications
Directive, which was adopted in 2005 and enters into force
on the 20th October 2007. This Directive replaces and consolidates
the provisions of 15 previous directives and when it comes
into force the Architects’ Directive will be abolished.
The directive sets out the procedures that must be followed
by Member States in the recognition of professional qualifications
within the Internal Market of the EU. The concern of the
ACE arises from the fact that the new directive does not
recognise the specific nature of architectural education
as it has treated the qualifications for architects in the
same manner as the other sectoral professions (mainly medical
professions) that also had specific directives on recognition
before the adoption of the qualifications directive.
The ACE has learnt that, although the new directive claims
to preserve the acquis communautaire, the procedures that
will be used to assess notified architectural qualifications
on which a Member State has raised serious doubts will be
radically changed. At the present time, when a Member State
raises doubts the publication of the notified qualification
is delayed until an opinion is delivered by the Advisory
Committee of the Architects Directive. In the new procedures
publication of notified qualifications will be automatic,
even if serious doubts have been raised by a Member State
and so it is conceivable that persons with qualifications
that do not meet the criteria of the directive could, in
principle, be able to benefit from automatic recognition
in the EU, thus bringing down the quality of architecture
in the EU. This situation is not at all favourable to the
maintenance of a high level of competences required of architects
by citizens and consumers and will generate an inexorable
lowering of the quality of architecture within the EU. The
Commission has stated its intention to seek expert opinion
on any such qualifications, but if a negative opinion is
issued and accepted, then the consequence is that an officially
listed qualification would have to be withdrawn and that
would put those who may have benefited from the listing
to be in a “no-mans land” thereafter.
Should the new procedures not give the same clarity and
certainty about whether listed qualifications meet the criteria
of the directive, then confidence in all listed qualifications
will be undermined. The ACE, in partnership with the Schools
of Architecture, has initiated contacts with the European
Commission on these concerns, has informed its Member Organisations
in detail and has established an Expert Work Group, under
the Chairmanship of Toal O’Muire (IE) to prepare guidance
on the issues raised.
New Sustainable Development Strategy
Adopted
On the 16th June last, the European Council adopted a revised
EU Sustainable Development Strategy, the Gothenburg Agenda.
The revised strategy focuses on sustainable production and
consumption, listing seven challenges with their corresponding
targets and actions, but remains ambiguous in its relationship
to the Lisbon Agenda and its drive for growth and jobs.
The ACE, in its Policy Book on Architecture and Quality
of Life (2004), stated its support for the Lisbon Agenda
on the condition that the objectives of the Gothenburg Agenda
are implemented at the same time. It will be examining the
revised SDS in order to assess whether this new development
is likely to deliver the necessary integration between the
two Agenda.
To read the full text of the revised SDS go to:
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/06/st10/st10117.en06.pdf
Transposition of the Public Procurement
Directives
As reported in the last issue of ACE Info, the rate of transposition
of the Directives on Public Procurement remains disappointing.
It is worth recalling that the final date for transposition
was the 31st January 2006 and that as of the 21st June last,
the EU Commission had received notifications from only 15
countries on their implementation measures, of which four
appear to constitute partial implementation only. The 11
countries that have fully implemented are Denmark, Italy,
Cyprus, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria,
Poland, Slovakia and the UK. The four that appear to have
partially implemented are: Belgium, France, Lithuania and
Portugal. The remaining 10 countries may or may not have
adopted implementing legislation but, in any event, no notification
has been received by the Commission from them to date.
In a related development, the Commissioner for the Internal
Market and Services, Charlie McCreevy (IE), recently addressed
the annual conference of British professionals working in
public procurement. At that event he denounced the “myth”
that European SMEs are not benefiting from Public Procurement
when he said that:
“One myth that I would like to dispel today is the
notion that, in some way, SMEs get “dealt out”
of public procurement opportunities. Nothing could be further
from the truth. The latest statistics available showed that
78% of the firms which were awarded a contract the value
of which was above the thresholds, were indeed SMEs.”
In making this announcement he was resisting calls for special
treatment for SMEs under EU Legislation on procedures for
Public Procurement. To read the full content of the speech
go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_barroso/mccreevy/docs/speeches/london060606.pdf
Parliament Approves Structural
Funds 2007-2013 Package
On the 4th July last, the European Parliament gave is go-ahead
to the package of Structural Funds for the period 2007-2013,
adopting five reports that define the objectives to which
the Structural and Cohesion Funds must contribute, the financial
resources available and the criteria for their attribution
in an enlarged Europe. Welcoming the vote, Commissioner
Hübner stressed that there were several elements of
the package that are of importance to the Commission. Among
these, she specifically mentioned the fact that the focus
will now be on urban areas, which are being seen more and
more as the centres for the implementation of European policy
and the drivers of growth, prosperity and well being. The
emphasis on urban areas recognises that much needs to be
done in the regeneration and revitalisation of cities in
a manner that reduces the overall environmental impact of
cities through sustainable development strategies.
The College of Commissioners adopted the common strategic
guidelines on cohesion on the 6th July and it is now expected
that they will be adopted by the Parliament in September
and by the Council in early October. Further information
can be found at:
http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/funds/2007/index_en.htm
____________________________________
ACE Matters
____________________________________
The ACE Publishes its Revised Working
Structure
Following its latest Executive Board Meeting, the ACE has
published on its website an organisational chart that reflects
and describes its new working structure. Readers of ACE
Info will recall that the ACE brought new Statutes into
force in January 2006 and that this change was accompanied
by the adoption of a Political Agenda that set out the political
goals of the ACE and by a Multi-Annual Work Programme that
set out how these goals are to be achieved. The Organisational
Chart that received the final approval of the Executive
Board at its meeting of the 30th June and 1st July last,
sets out in a graphical format the full working structure
of the ACE, notably indicating those work areas that interface
directly with the EU Institutions. It also shows the names
of all those persons charged with leading or contributing
as experts to the various work themes that the ACE is now
targeting. Finally it shows a number of work themes that
have been identified as future priorities and on which work
has not yet started. The chart can be downloaded from the
website at the following address:
http://www.ace-cae.org
Upcoming ACE Events and Meetings
Expert Work Group on the Qualifications Directive –
20th July – Brussels
Work Group Education – 24th July – Brussels
Work Group Housing – 7th September – Brussels
General Coordination Meeting – 8th September –
Brussels
Work Group Environment and Sustainable Architecture –
9th September – Brussels
CEOs - 28th September, Brussels (To be confirmed)
Finance Committee – 29th September – Brussels
Executive Board – 29th and 30th September –
Brussels
____________________________________
Other Matters
____________________________________
Questionnaire on Competences of
Graduate Architects
The European Network of the Heads of Schools of Architecture
(ENHSA) is a project initiated by the European Association
for Architectural Education (EAAE) that aims to help schools
of architecture to better and effectively integrate in the
new European Higher Education Area. It is taking part in
a very ambitious project known as the “Tuning”
project where the competences of graduates from all disciplines
are being gathered. The objective of the Tuning Project
is to inform educational institutes of the competences that
their graduates leave their institutions with so as to inform
the educational process. In other words, work is underway
to reshape educational approaches in order to ensure that
they focus on learning outcomes and not just on the process
of education.
For graduate architects these learning outcomes and competences
are the most relevant elements in design, construction and
management and have been drawn from the 11 skills and aptitudes
listed in Article 3 of the Architects Directive. In order
to gain a picture of these outcomes, the ENHSA has prepared
a detailed questionnaire that seeks the opinion of practising
architects on the competences of graduates. In order for
the results of this work to be reliable there is a need
to have a high number of responses from a wide geographical
area in Europe and so you are urged to go online and contribute
to this important work by completing the questionnaire.
It is available in English and French, take about 15 minutes
to complete and can be accessed at:
http://www2.rc.auth.gr/Utilities/LabNetQuest/questionnaire_employers.htm
EU-US Summit Addresses Trade in
Architectural Services
At the recent EU-US Summit (Vienna, 21st June) the topic
of trade in architectural services was reflected in the
final declaration of the Summit with a specific reference
to the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) that was signed
by the European and American architectural professional
organisations in November 2005. Furthermore, during a high
level meeting between representatives of the European services
sector (ESF) and the European Commissioner for Trade, Peter
Mandelson on the 27th June, in which the importance of achieving
substantial liberalisation in trade in services for a successful
Doha Round was emphasised, the ACE was able to report that
the MRA had been ratified in the interim by the State Architectural
Registration Boards of the United States of America with
a positive vote of 50 to 1.
Following this meeting, Peter Mandelson issued a Press Release
indicating that he will be pushing for an ambitious agreement
in the negotiations on trade in services in the context
of the informal stock-taking on services negotiations with
20 Ministers which he subsequently held in Geneva on the
1st July and where renewed interest was shown despite the
blockage in the Doha Round negotiations. To read the progress
on the Declaration on the Economic Initiative where architectural
services are mentioned (at the end), go to:
http://www.ue2006.at/includes/Download_Dokumente/2106EUUSProgressEconomy.pdf
Towards Class “A” –
Number of Shining Examples Increasing
The ACE is a partner in this project that is seeking to
raise awareness about the energy efficiency of public buildings
across the EU through the labelling of municipal buildings
for their performance. It is a follow-up to the “Display”
campaign and one element of the project is the identification
of shining examples of such buildings in all corners of
Europe so as to demonstrate that high numbers of energy
efficient buildings are already widely spread in Europe.
In its latest report of June 2006, the project states that
22 shining examples from 14 countries have now been identified
and that there is optimism that this umber will significantly
increase before the end of the project in 2007. For further
information go to the project website at:
http://www.display-campaign.org/
EU Council Supports the Thematic
Strategy on the Urban Environment
On the 27th June, the EU environment ministers confirmed
their support for the thematic strategy on the urban environment
presented by the European Commission in January 2006. The
Council highlights the close link that exists between the
thematic strategy on the urban environment and the sustainable
development strategy (see above) as well as with the thematic
strategies relating to air quality, waste management and
prevention. The Council is convinced that it is essential
for the cities and urban areas to make a contribution towards
combating air pollution and climate change. The Council
calls on Member States and their towns and cities to practice
integrated environmental management with a special focus
on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving energy
efficiency and sustainable use of resources in cities, covering
environmentally friendly and sustainable transport and land
use planning, sustainable urban design as well as sustainable
construction and operation of buildings, green public procurement
and the promotion of sustainable production and consumption
patterns and life-styles among citizens.
Adoption of Seventh Framework Programme
for Research Moves Forward
The adoption of the Seventh Framework Programme for Research
(FP7) moved forward in recent weeks with the adoption of
an amended programme by the Parliament in First Reading
on the 15th June as this was followed, on the 1st July by
the adoption of a revised draft FP7 by the Commission in
which it took into consideration a high number of the Parliaments
amendments, particularly in relation to the formulation
of thematic priorities. These developments will allow the
Finnish Presidency to immediately get down to negotiations
on the FP7 with a view to having the Second Reading in Parliament
in the autumn, thus opening the way for the first calls
to be issued before the end of 2006.
The Parliament supported much of the Commissions ambitions
in relation to the FP7, particularly the setting up of the
European Research Council as an independent structure after
a transition period where it will be an executive agency.
The Parliament also emphasised that, for it, the major research
priorities of the FP7 should be in the fields of health
and energy.
It is interesting to note that the adopted text of the Parliament
includes a number of amendments that are, in principle,
good for the architectural profession as they address a
range of the socio-economic, urban and heritage issues that
are of concern to the ACE. In fact, the inclusion of these
amendments indicates that the lobbying work, by the ACE
and others, on the need to ensure that the FP7 does not
focus exclusively on technological issues, is bearing fruit.
The ACE has argued, for example, that understanding the
processes, systems and impacts of various policy approaches
to urban development is crucial if society is to be in a
position to deliver quality of life to EU citizens in an
increasingly urbanised Europe.
For further information go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/sitemap/sitemap.cfm?lang=en#120
Le:Notre – The European Urban
Landscape Partnership Launched
At the recent European Landscape Conference, a new partnership
between municipalities and educationalists was launched
under the aegis of Le:Notre. The Urban Landscape Partnership
aims to use the twin arms of the EU Thematic Strategy on
the Urban Environment and the Council of Europe’s
European Landscape Convention to develop a long term network
and information exchange promoting the urban landscape as
a development from the Le:Notre experience. For further
information go to:
http://www.le-notre.org/
Quarterly Fall in Production in
the Construction Sector
Production in the construction sector in the first quarter
of 2006, compared to production in the first quarter of
2005, was down by 1.3% in the euro area and fell by 0.8%
in the EU-25. However, compared to the first quarter of
2005, output was up by 0.4% in both the euro area and the
EU-25 down from growth of 0,6% and 1,15 respectively in
the last quarter of 2005. Overall, building output was generally
up in all areas, while civil engineering output was down
in all areas.
Council Achieves Common Position
on REACH
At its meeting of the 27th June in Luxembourg, the European
Council formally adopted its Common Position on the REACH
regulation on the registration, assessment and limited authorisation
of chemical products in the EU. This decision, on what is
considered to be the most complex text ever considered by
the EU, opens the way for the Second Reading in Parliament
this autumn. On the most controversial point in this legislation
– the authorisation procedure for the most hazardous
substances – the Council decided to authorise the
extended use of these substances as long as they are subject
to “adequate controls” and that replacing these
worrying substances is encouraged through the use of less
harmful solutions. The principle of substitution will therefore
not be binding. This decision has led environmental NGOs,
consumer and health groups to deplore the decision of the
Council as it will not protect citizens and the environment
against toxic chemical products.
In a related development, the USA has formed an alliance
of 13 trading partners of the EU to lobby against the REACH
regulation. The diplomatic missions of these countries –South
Africa, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Korea, USA, India, Israel,
Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore and Thailand –
issued a joint press statement in which they express their
“concerns with REACH’s workability, its potential
effects on international trade and the opacity of the regulatory
process and implementation preparations”. The alliance
argues that, if implemented as currently written, REACH
would have significant disruptive effects on international
trade ad would lead to high costs for SMEs, thus suffocating
the competitive environment. It has called on the Parliament
to address these “problematic aspects of the proposal”
during the Second Reading. To read the US Ambassadors statement
on the issue, go to:
http://useu.usmission.gov/About_The_Ambassador/Gray/Jun0806_Gray_REACH.asp
Parliament Wants Ambitious Action
Plan on Energy Efficiency
On the 1st June last, the European Parliament adopted an
own-initiative report on the Green Paper on energy efficiency
in which it reaffirms its requirements for the Action Plan
on Energy Efficiency – on which the Commission is
currently working – to be ambitious and concrete.
Stressing the fact that “the Union can viably afford
to save at least 20% of its current energy consumption”
the Parliament calls for a higher objective for energy saving
than that mentioned in the Green Paper (20% between now
and 2020). It lays emphasis on research and development
and the need to carry out a combined action at all decision
making levels: Community, national, regional, local and
international. The Parliament also recommends a raft of
other measures that include the creation of a fund for energy
efficiency to promote energy efficient products, a European
information and awareness campaign on practical measures
to improve energy efficiency and the creation of a European
initiative to coordinate the updating of energy standards
for new buildings. To read the full report go to:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?pubRef=-//EP//TEXT+TA+P6-TA-2006-0243+0+DOC+XML+V0//EN&language=EN
Intelligent Energy Europe –
Call for Proposals
The 2006 call for proposals – the last under the current
IEE programme – has been published. European organisations
can apply for financial support for their projects until
31st October 2006. Approximately €50 million will be
made available to co-finance up to 50% of the project costs.
Organisations from EU Member States, Romania, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein can apply. Full
details can be accessed at:
http://ec.europa.eu/energy/intelligent/call_for_proposals/index_en.htm
Finland Proposes to Change the
Direction of EU Innovation Policy
The Finnish Presidency has invited the EU-25 ministers to
discuss a change in the direction and content of the EU
innovation policy and it wants to guide the way towards
demand-led innovation policies. This has arisen out of the
recommendations of the Aho report (see ACE Info 2/06), one
of which is the creation of an innovation friendly market
in which businesses can launch new products and services.
The Finnish Presidency has stated that it is set to strive
to bring Europe’s economy and entrepreneurship back
on track and one of the methods to do this will be the adoption
of a new approach to innovation policy. It has therefore
produced a discussion paper for consideration at the Competitiveness
Council meeting of the 11th and 12th July 2006 at which
it hopes that the direction and substance of a new innovation
policy will be set out. Following the work at that meeting,
the Finnish Presidency will publish a summary of the results
and in September the Commission will publish a Communication
on Innovation.
____________________________________
Publications
____________________________________
None to note in this edition
____________________________________
Events
____________________________________
Listing of events relating to Urban Issues
The European Urban Knowledge Network (EUKN) maintains a
very good listing of events that relate to urban issues
on its website, many of which are interest to architects.
It can be accessed at:
http://www.eukn.org/eukn/meetings/index.html
The Construction Aspects of Built
Heritage Protection Research Needs
Due to take place in Dubrovnik, Croatia from the 14th to
the 17th October 2006, this conference and brokerage event
will start with a plenary session of the ECTP Focus Area
on Cultural Heritage and will include information on the
research opportunities being provided by the upcoming Seventh
Framework Programme for Research and Development with a
particular emphasis on the topic of the preservation of
architectural heritage. The website of the conference is:
http://www.secon.hr/doc_files/Construction%20aspects%20for%20heritage%20protection%20-%20research%20needs%20-%20Preliminary%20invitation.pdf
Fire and Risk Management
To be held in Brussels, Belgium on the 4th October 2006,
this conference is being organised by the European Elevator
Association and will examine the latest developments on
the international stage in relation to fire safety in high
buildings. Full details can be requested by writing to:
info@eea-eeig.org
Symposium: Entering the Evacuated
Field
To be held in Essen, Germany on the 29th September 2006,
this symposium will focus on unusual strategies for challenging
situations related to the re-use of urban wasteland, empty
buildings, disused products and forgotten brands. It is
being organised by the Zollverein School of management and
design. Full details can be found at:
http://www.zollverein-school.de
____________________________________
Calls for papers
____________________________________
The ACE frequently receives notifications of “Calls
for Papers” for conferences and seminars worldwide.
You may have written a thesis or doctorate paper that you
would like to present or you may have an idea that you wish
develop and to share with a wider audience – here
is your chance:
Glass Processing days
Full background details on this international conference
and workshop (to be held in Tampere, Finland in June 2007)
can be found at the web address below. A call for the submission
of papers for the conference has been made with a deadline
of the 10th October 2006:
http://www.gpd.fi
__________________________________________
Competitions
__________________________________________
Headquarters for Wexford County Council - Ireland
This is an open two stage design contest for architectural,
engineering, quantity surveying and associated services
being administered by the Royal Institute of the Architects
of Ireland (RIAI) on behalf of the promoters, Wexford County
Council. The building will house the administrative functions
of the County Council and provide space for civic purposes.
The target budget for the works is €34,000,000 and
the site area is 2.4 hectares. Full details on deadlines
and registration can be found at:
http://www.riai.ie/?id=5765
Architectural Award Berlin 2006
The call for entries for this award is now open and the
promoters are seeking to identify exemplary and pace-setting
architectural and urban design projects that have been completed
in Berlin after June 2003. All types of buildings and works
are eligible. Full details at:
http://www.architekturpreis-berlin.de
__________________________________________
Useful links
__________________________________________
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
The Barroso Commission:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/commission_barroso/index_en.htm
Website of the Finnish Presidency
http://www.eu2006.fi
European Forum for Architectural Policies
http://www.architecture-forum.net
Sustainable building website
http://www.sustainablebuilding.info
Collegi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya
(COAC) international relations database:
http://www.coac.net/international/
Consiglio Nazionale degli Architetti, Pianificatori,
Paesaggisti e Conservatori (CNAPPC) database - ArchiEuro:
http://www.archieuro.archiworld.it
Website of the European Construction Technology
Platform:
http://www.ectp.org
EU Impact Assessment in Practice
Consult a list of impact assessments that the EU has carried
out on various legislative packages at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/impact/index_en.htm
Register of Expert Groups of the European
Commission:
http://europe.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/regexp/
ArchiEuropa website – comparative
information on practice of architecture:
http://www.arvha.net/selectionlang.php?s=AXMIG1FZFB
Summary of current competitions:
http://www.arplus.com/competition/competiton.htm
Archi-Student website – a wealth of information on
schools and students of architecture in Europe:
http://www.archi-students.org
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 Swedish _sv
Italian _it Spanish _es Greek _el Dutch _nl
Portuguese _pt Finnish _fi Czech _cs Maltese _mt
Estonian _et Latvian _lv Lithuanian _lt Polish _pl
Hungarian _hu Slovene _sl Slovak _sk
_____________________________________
EDITOR’S NOTE
____________________________________
The editorial board for the compilation of ACE Info is:
The ACE President: Jean-François Susini
The ACE Vice-President: Luciano Lazzari
The Secretary General of the ACE: Alain Sagne
Senior Advisor to the ACE: Adrian Joyce
ACE Info is issued on a regular basis,
with about ten editions issued per year. 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 to receive ACE Info regularly
and you are not on the mailing list, you can register online
at: http://www.ace-cae.org/Public/fsPublicNetwork_EN.html
If you have information that you wish to have included
in the next edition then e-mail it (in English or French
please) to adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org.
The deadline for submissions is the first Friday of each
month.
_____________________________________
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
_____________________________________
The editorial board wishes to acknowledge
the sources of information for this edition of ACE Info
which include European Urban Knowledge Network, the European
Commission, the European Network of the Heads of Schools
of Architecture (ENHSA), the European Federation of Landscape
Architects (EFLA), the Euractiv website (http://www.euractiv.com)
and Bulletin Quotidien Europe.
_____________________________________
adrian.joyce@ace-cae.org
– Comments and contributions welcome
