Implementing the New European Bauhaus

Background

In December 2025, the European Commission presented its plans for the future of the New European Bauhaus (NEB). The Communication New European Bauhaus: From vision to implementation and its accompanying Proposal for a Council Recommendation were adopted as part of the European Housing Package. They set out the key measures to strengthen the initiative and its impact as an enabler for the clean transition and innovation in Europe and all over the world.

The cooperation between EU institutions and in particular the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) and the European Committee of the Regions is extremely important. Together, they can raise awareness about the NEB, promote its opportunities, involve civil society and share available resources.

The Council is invited to adopt the Proposal for a Council Recommendationaccompanying the Communication, in order to strengthen cross-sectoral efforts in their respective country and to ensure that the NEB becomes operational and factored into relevant national, regional and local initiatives and funding.

With reference to the EESC, the Committee expressed its view by adopting the opinion New European Bauhaus in 2022. The new opinion will deal with civil society’s concerns and expectations regarding the implementation of the actions outlined by the European Commission last year.

Key points

The EESC:

• calls on the European Commission to develop Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the horizontal cross-cutting implementation of the values and principles of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) in new and revised EU policies and regulatory acts, and underlines the inseparability of the NEB and the Affordable Housing policies as well as the need for the next NEB implementation step to focus on investment in sustainable, affordable and quality housing.
• welcomes the imminent adoption of the Recommendation on the NEB and calls on the EU Member States to act on it as a bridge between the EU and regional/local level, as, in this context, coordinating measures at the EU level can provide clear added value while respecting subsidiarity.
• calls on the Commission to stipulate that public authorities give precedence to life cycle and quality criteria for services shaping the built environment in the upcoming revision of the Public Procurement Directives and to enhance, not diminish, professional excellence as a crucial basis for implementing NEB principles, while ensuring accessible upskilling opportunities, particularly for employees, professionals and SMEs.

Additional information

Section: Transport, Energy, Infrastructure and the Information Society (TEN)

Opinion number: TEN/873

Opinion type: Optional

Referral: COM(2025) 1026 final

Rapporteur: Rudolf Kolbe (Group III - Austria)

Date of adoption by section: 26 May 2026

Result of the vote: 71 in favour, 0 against, 2 abstentions

Date of adoption in plenary: 17-18 June 2026

Result of the vote: 163 in favour, 0 against, 3 abstentions

Contact

Marco Pezzani

Press Officer

Tel.: +32 2 546 9793 | Mob: +32 470 881 903

E-mail: marco.pezzani@eesc.europa.eu

Francesco Napolitano

Administrator

Tel.: +32 546 8921

E-mail: francesco.napolitano@eesc.europa.eu