Manifesto of the Architects’ Council of Europe for the 2019 European Parliament elections

Ahead of the forthcoming European Parliament elections, the Architects’ Council of Europe is publishing a Manifesto calling on future MEPs to commit to promoting sustainability and quality in the built environment.

The new Work Plan for Culture concluded by the European Council in December 2018, underlines that “innovative and inclusive processes to deliver and preserve quality architecture are needed to develop an integrated approach contributing to the well-being of all citizens”. It also defines architecture as a discipline that “encompasses the right balance between cultural, social, economic, environmental and technical aspects for the common good.”

Strong and targeted actions at EU level are necessary to create a coherent legislative framework that will empower architects, public authorities and professionals of the building sector to tap the full potential of a high-quality architecture, for the common good.

To this end, the Architects’ Council of Europe invites future MEPs to work with Architects:

1. to support the education and upskilling of professionals, notably trough the upcoming revision of the Professional Qualifications Directive;
2. to achieve high-quality architecture and Baukultur, notably through the Council’s Work Plan for Culture and legislation on Public Procurement;
3. to encourage Member States to address, as a matter of urgency, the lack of affordable, quality housing in many parts of the EU;
4. to re-think the connection between climate change and the built environment.

Read the ACE Manifesto in English and French on the ACE website.