Embuild placed three priorities at the heart of the political debate held by the construction federation on Friday 23 February during its annual ForumConstruction: affordable and sustainable housing, public investment and attractive jobs in the construction sector.
“It is absolutely essential to develop a broad and energy-efficient housing offer if we want to avoid a housing crisis,” stresses Niko Demeester, CEO of Embuild, during this ForumConstruction. “Furthermore, our infrastructure needs extensive modernisation and expansion, and therefore additional investment. We are also calling for a stronger focus on training, activation and retraining.” Eight hundred guests attended mini-debates bringing together the presidents and/or prominent representatives of the political parties ahead of the elections. Questions to which Georges-Louis Bouchez responded at length.
Embuild's annual ForumConstruction was held against the backdrop of the European, federal and regional elections of 9 June 2024. Georges-Louis Bouchez, MR President, debated alongside Thomas Dermine, Secretary of State for Recovery and Strategic Investments. For the MR President, “The Flemish don't have an extra arm or leg compared to the Walloons” and “There's no reason why we should work less in Wallonia and Brussels than elsewhere in Europe”. For the liberals, unemployment benefits must be limited to two years and labour costs reduced, but to fund all this, the employment rate must rise. In contrast, the socialists spent the debate merely reaffirming their wish to maintain lifelong unemployment benefits.