That was the message from the European Commission’s head of unit for construction, Dr Katharina Knapton-Vierlich, who was speaking at the Bauma exhibition in Munich, Germany.

Her comments came as the European Commission places a renewed emphasis on making housing across Europe more affordable, after President Ursula von der Leyen started her second term as President, with a new team of Commissioners, in December 2024.

Dr Knapton-Vierlich said the European Commission was “still somewhat in brainstorming mode� when it comes to developing policies to tackle the housing crisis.

But she added that solutions would focus on the supply side and across the whole construction ecosystem.

“We believe that unlocking the full competitiveness potential of the sector will not only create jobs and growth but also allow the sector to increase the supply of much-needed housing through renovation and new construction,� she said.

The European Commission is arranging its policy around five pillars, all of which aim to boost the competitiveness of the sector.

First among those is making construction permits easier and faster to obtain. “Permitting times can be very long. Many stakeholders have told us they are an impediment to the development of housing projects. Obviously, permitting is a national, regional and even local competence. But we cannot ignore the impact that permitting times are having on housing projects and currently we are putting our thinking caps on to see what we could do,� said Dr Knapton-Vierlich. She added that digitalising of the entire building permitting process across the European Union would help to accelerate projects.

Another area where the European Commission is focusing its attention is on prefabrication and innovative construction products. “We see a huge potential for creating European lead markets for innovative products and especially pre-fabrication parts,� Dr. Knapton-Vierlich said.

She suggested that having CE-marked pre-fabricated parts and kits would allow them to be marketed across the European single market. However, she acknowledged that different building regulations regimes in individual countries could make this more challenging.

Dr Knapton-Vierlich added that the European Commission is aiming to put Europe at the forefront of low-carbon construction products. To do so may require financial support, she acknowledged. “I can’t promise a magic money tree, but I can quite seriously predict that we will use quite a share of what at European level we have as funds available to support that market creation,� she said.

Separately, the European Commission has adopted 47 strategic projects aimed at securing access to the raw materials that the construction industry and construction equipment manufacturers need. Those include lithium, nickel, cobalt, and manganese needed for the production of electric vehicle batteries and products like steel.

Finally, Dr Knapton-Vierlich said that the European Commission wanted to address construction’s shortage of skilled labour. “The most important thing we can do is give people the skills and the opportunities to work in the sector in a way that is compatible with their needs, aspirations, work security, and their access to housing security,� she said.

Accelerating automation, digitalisation, and clean working conditions would make the sector more attractive to work in, she suggested.

“I look forward to being immersed in all the new solutions that I will see today [at Bauma], and to learn more about the challenges that the sector is facing and that I may not be completely aware of,� she concluded.

Revised Construction Product Regulation

The largest project of the European Commission’s construction unit so far has been the , Dr Knapton-Vierlich said.

The revised Regulation entered force in January this year and modernised rules set in 2011, aimed at making it easier to sell products across the region, as well as capturing information about performance, conformity, safety and carbon footprint digitally.

“Construction products have to be safe, fit for purpose and sustainable. Customers have to be able to rely on CE marking that allows them to assess the suitability of any construction product for their needs and they have to be able to trust the declared performance of a product,� she said.

She added that European customers should be able to access products across the entire European single market, without it being blocked at national borders.

The Commission has been working hard with member states, industry representatives and standardization organisations to update product standards “as fast as possible�.

The update construction products regulations would also mean a “leap in digitalisation�, she added, with al product information enshrined in a Digital Product Passport.

“This will integrate products into already existing digital steps of the construction product process and will hopefully accelerate the full digitalization of the value chain,� she added.