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The European Builders Confederation (EBC) and the European Federation of Building and Woodworkers (EFBWW) today called on the European Union to introduce EU rules limiting excessive subcontracting chains in public construction as part of the upcoming revision of the Public Procurement Directives. Hosted in the European Parliament by MEPs Johan Danielsson (S&D, Sweden) and Liesbet Sommen (EPP, Belgium), this first joint event also featured contributions from Executive Vice-President Roxana Minzatu’s Cabinet and MEPs Isabelle le Callennec (EPP, France) and Gabriela Bischoff (S&D, Germany).
Both organisations stress that while subcontracting remains an important tool for specialisation and cooperation, long and complex subcontracting chains increasingly undermine fair competition and place responsible SMEs at a disadvantage. Such structures also weaken accountability and create opportunities for labour exploitation and fraud in the sector.
To address these challenges, EFBWW and EBC present six shared priorities for the revision of the Public Procurement Directives. These include ensuring that public money supports fair competition and decent working conditions; limiting subcontracting chains by tackling long and opaque subcontracting chains in public contracts; defining clear, proportionate and transparent liability rules; banning financial subcontracting; ensuring genuine operational capacity of main contractors; and strengthening transparency, inspections and enforcement.
Spain, Norway and Belgium have already introduced measures to address excessive subcontracting in public procurement, while local authorities and certain contractors across Europe increasingly are doing the same. The momentum is growing, and the upcoming revision of the Public Procurement Directives offers an opportunity to establish a common European approach building on the experiences developed at national level.
EBC and EFBWW stand ready to contribute constructively to future discussions with the European institutions and national authorities to ensure that public procurement supports both a competitive, SME-friendly construction sector and quality, direct employment with good working conditions.
"We have normalised business models that make responsibility disappear and leave workers exposed to exploitation, unsafe working conditions and wage fraud. Somehow, we have allowed standards in construction that would be unthinkable in any other major industry. Public procurement shapes the construction market, and public money should reward companies that create direct jobs, invest in skills and take responsibility for the projects they deliver."
- Bruno Bothua, former President of EFBWW
“Construction SMEs depend on responsible subcontracting to cooperate, innovate and contribute their expertise to projects of every size. The challenge is not subcontracting itself, but excessively long and opaque chains that weaken fair competition, transparency and accountability. Public procurement offers the right framework for Europe to establish common principles for responsible subcontracting, while allowing Member States and sectoral social partners to design and implement solutions that reflect their national realities. This is how public money can support genuine economic activity, quality projects and responsible companies.”
- Jean-Christophe Repon, President of EBC