Speech by Commissioner Elisa Ferreira for the Open Part of the European Panel Federation Annual General Meeting, Santiago de Compustela

¡Hola a todos en Santiago de Compostela hoy para celebrar un día de debate dedicado a la Nueva Bauhaus Europea!

We are experiencing profound transformations in our lifestyles. The way we work and travel, the way we build – and heat – our homes, our public spaces – and our public events.

These changes are necessary, these changes are inevitable. But with the right design approach, we can also make them beautiful, accessible and affordable. Building not just sustainability but community and quality of life, at the local level and for everyone.

And this is the driving principle of the New European Bauhaus: “Sustainability – with style”. It is the heart and soul of the European Green Deal.

So I very much welcome your discussions today. Because such ambitions require creative contributions, interdisciplinary collaborations, cooperation across Europe.

Working together to discover not just better ways of building but better ways of living and of reinforcing local community and local identity.

Our host, Spain, has been very active in this transformation.

To name just a few examples:

At the national level, the new “Law on Architecture and Built Environment” became a reality together with the New European Bauhaus initiative, promoting sustainability, inclusion, accessibility. It is a step forward of major importance.

Spanish projects were also among the first New European Bauhaus pilot projects, such as the “NEB Goes South” demonstrator, where the University of Valencia collaborates with five other schools of architecture from southern Europe facing the same climate challenges – Portugal, Italy, France, Croatia and Greece.

In Cohesion Policy's New European Bauhaus support to 20 local municipalities – two are in Spain: “L'Olivera DigitALL”, transforming a building in the spirit of circularity to offer a digital and sustainable education facility for all. And GAIACELLS in Níjar, Almería using bioconstruction for social housing and integration.

And Spanish projects have won a total of 11 Bauhaus prizes in 2021 and 2022 alone!

And on 22 June once again the New European Bauhaus Prizes gathered amazing projects focusing on sustainability, inclusion and beauty in many different areas!

And I am glad to know that these are also values that the European Panel Federation is willing to embrace!

We rely on all of you, from across Europe, to continue this tremendous energy of innovative and creative sustainable solutions.

Because wood panelling has a key contribution to make: we need versatile, and sustainable, building materials. And we welcome your commitment to becoming a “role model industry” in terms of carbon neutrality and circularity.

And of course, as we all know, wood is beautiful and a key element of an aesthetic lifestyle, affordable for all.

So we welcome your engagement and I urge you to make the most of the support structures put in place by European Cohesion Policy.

Cohesion Programmes will support New European Bauhaus projects. The direct calls launched by the European Commission are just a start.

I'm particularly glad that all 27 EU Member States included the New European Bauhaus values and principles in their 2021-27 Cohesion programming.

We share with you a great ambition: to see Europe become the world's first carbon neutral continent. And to do this in a way which is liveable, affordable and accessible to all.

We can only do this together with all the experts and sectors, including you. So we welcome your support, and your active participation in the New European Bauhaus initiative!

I wish you a fruitful discussion.