Today in Luxembourg, the European Council of Engineers Chambers (ECEC) joined forces with the Order of Architects and Consulting Engineers in Luxembourg (OAI), the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) and the European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) for a high-level joint conference titled “Architects + Engineers: Partnership for Resilient Design.” The event brought together leading voices from architecture and engineering across Europe to highlight the crucial role of our professions in delivering resilient, sustainable, and future-ready solutions.
Opening from ECEC President Nina Drazin Lovrec: In her address, ECEC President emphasised the need for a special chapter for intellectual services in the Public Procurement Directive:
“Intellectual services, like engineering and architectural work, are currently treated the same way as standardized services in procurement procedures. This does not reflect the true nature of our work. Intellectual services involve complex planning, teamwork, and expertise. They require a different approach. That’s why we believe there should be a separate chapter in procurement rules for these services”.
Key topics and Conference Highlights
In the context of the ongoing revision of the EU Public Procurement Directive (PPD) and in alignment with the New European Bauhaus (NEB) initiative, the conference spotlighted the urgent need for reforms to ensure quality-based procurement and better support for innovative, SME-driven solutions.
A Joint Commitment: The Luxembourg Declaration
To close the conference, the four organisations unveiled the Luxembourg Declaration on Public Procurement—a shared commitment to improving procurement practices across Europe in support of design quality, sustainability, and long-term value.
The full Declaration will be released next week, capturing the joint vision and policy recommendations from the architectural and engineering sectors to:
- Strengthen the internal market with overarching public procurement rules that go beyond lowest price
- Provide for better recognition of the specific nature of intellectual services
- Ensure quality- and innovation-oriented procurement procedures
- Improve access to procurement for SMEs and new entrants
Missed the event? – Rewatch the full conference on the ACE YouTube Channel
