News 2026

On 21 September, the Water Resilience Stakeholder Platform was officially launched at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in Brussels. Its objective is to support the implementation of the EU Water Resilience Strategy.

FIEC has been appointed as a member, represented by Antonios Papadakis, Electrical Engineer and Operations Director at Goliopoulos S.A. (Greece), and Dominique Bouillot, Associate at FEW / Water Asset Development (France). The platform will be jointly chaired by the European Commission and the EESC.

At the high-level opening session, Jessika Roswall, EU Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, highlighted that more proactive action on water resilience is needed, especially in light of this summer’s heat wave. This resonates with last week's "State of the European Union" (SOTEU) address by European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, in which a "new European Water Initiative" was announced. The Water Resilience Stakeholder Platform is expected to provide input for turning this ambition into action, with the diversity of participating stakeholders supporting that goal.

FIEC fully supports the EU’s ambition to strengthen water resilience as a strategic priority and to operationalise the "Water Efficiency First" principle, including the objective of improving water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030, with water infrastructure at its heart.

Contractors are directly involved in the design, construction, and maintenance of water-related infrastructure. The Water Resilience Stakeholder Platform is therefore a key forum to ensure that EU water resilience policies are not only ambitious but also technically feasible, investment-ready, and grounded in implementation realities. It is important to address infrastructure gaps, strengthen governance and implementation capacity, and ensure territorial fairness in the transition.

FIEC’s experts bring extensive hands-on experience with public authorities, utilities, and engineers, combining an implementation-oriented approach with a strong focus on constructability and operational performance. Their expertise underscores the importance FIEC and its members attach to water resilience. FIEC looks forward to a fruitful collaboration among platform members to deliver on water resilience together.

Information about the launch of the Water Resilience Stakeholder Platform has been made available by the European Commission - Click here.

Access the FIEC Position Paper “Water Resilience: Solutions by the Construction Industry in a sustainable Policy Framework” (from October 2025) is availabe here.