New Construction Products Regulation 2024The new EU Construction Products Regulation: an obstacle to innovation or progress for the construction industry?

While Europe is pushing paperwork, the rest of the world is building the future

CN: Construction in China is developing real fast.

US: In the US fast decisions and scaling is executed.

EU: What is happening in Europe? Blocking itself with regulations.

For example, the new EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR) requires sustainability data - but there is no harmonised database.

And new European Assessment Documents (EADs) for innovative products and applications must also contain information on sustainability - but it is completely unclear how.  
As a result, projects are stopped and investments are put on hold. Europe’s construction industry is at risk of losing its innovative strength and  competitiveness.

Bureaucracy kills innovation in construction industry!

The development of innovative construction products requires long-term planning and major volume of investment on the part of manufacturers - as well as transparent and legally reliable framework conditions on the part of the EU.

The new EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR) came into force on 7 January 2024 and is now creating new uncertainties:

• The publication of new or revised European Assessment Documents (EADs) as the basis for CE labelling of new and innovative products is taking place without a reliable timetable.
• Without this basis, CE labelling is not possible.

The result: legal uncertainty, no investment in innovation projects, delays in the market launch of new products - and innovation risks for the entire construction industry.

The solution: close cooperation between the EU Commission, EOTA (European Organization of Technical Assessment) and industry to achieve the objectives of the new CPR and at the same time secure the necessary investment in new, sustainable and digital construction products.

The new EU Construction Products Regulation: an obstacle to innovation or progress for the construction industry?

On 18th December 2024, the EU Commission published the new EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR) in the Official Journal of the European Union. The new CPR aims to make the European construction market more digital and environmentally friendly. This regulation covers all construction products that are covered by harmonised European standards (hEN) or European Assessment Documents (EAD) and are an integral part documentation for building structures. The EADs are intended more for innovative products that have not yet been standardised.

1. Delegated Acts still to be developed

The aim of the new EU CPR is to ensure a level playing field and to resolve the blockade in the publication process for harmonised standards (hEN), which has been hampering standardisation work in the construction sector for several years. However, critics fear that the regulation could lead to increased administrative costs and legal uncertainty. The extensive text of the regulation and many “Delegated Acts” still to be developed are fuelling doubts about the desired efficiency and transparency.

2. Short transition period for European Assessment Documents

A key element of the CPR is the retention of voluntary CE marking based on European Technical Assessments (ETA) for products that are not fully covered by hENs. Although both the hENs and the EADs have been developed by expert committees and institutes, the EU Commission reserves the right to carry out an extensive review of the documents. Only after this process they will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and can be used as the basis for CE labelling. The biggest problem remains the unpredictability of the publication date of hENs and EADs, which leads to considerable risks for the market launch of new and innovative products and negative financial consequences for manufacturers.

The regulation stipulates that existing hENs will be replaced by revised hENs which cover digital elements and sustainability features by 2039. However, the existing hENs will remain valid until new hENs have been developed and cited.

This transition scenario does not apply to products based on EADs and voluntary CE labelling: All existing valid EADs must be updated by 2030 to meet the new requirements

3. Inclusion of sustainability aspects on hold

In addition, all new EADs for innovative products and applications must contain information on the sustainability of the products from January 2026, although the details of implementation such as a harmonised database are completely unclear today - less than 8 months before the binding implementation of the new CPR. From the perspective of manufacturers who use to work with planning and investment horizons of 2 years and more, this way of implementation of new legal frameworks is more than problematic.

The transition of the current assessment documents (EADs) to the new legal framework is scheduled to begin in January 2026 However, given the existing number of around 400 EADs and the lengthy procedures for publishing the documents, it seems unlikely that all EADs can be revised in time.

4. Manufacturers may stop investments in R&D

Manufacturers, engineers and users therefore fear that investment in innovative construction products could be halted for several years, as manufacturers will only invest in new products after the regulations for the assessment of their performance are clear. This could lead to an innovation freeze in the European construction industry, with negative effects on new construction, renovation and energy-efficient refurbishment of buildings.

The industry is therefore calling for transparent, efficient and predictable implementation of the new regulation now. It is proposed that the EAD revision process be organised in a similar way to hEN to ensure continuity and innovation in the construction industry.

5. Close cooperation of all stakeholders needed

Overall, the European construction industry faces the challenge of mastering the transition to the new EU CPR without losing its innovative strength and competitiveness. Close cooperation between the EU Commission, EOTA and the industry is crucial in order to achieve the objectives of the regulation and at the same time secure the necessary investment in new, sustainable and digital construction products.