This Week in Construction & Housing — Brussels (#24, 2026)
Steel safeguards extended, Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 in force; New FDI screening regime, Regulation (EU) 2026/1386 published; worker cancer chemical limit deal; Romania housing bank State aid approved.
June 21, 2026 to June 27, 2026
Steel safeguards extended, Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 in force; New FDI screening regime, Regulation (EU) 2026/1386 published; worker cancer chemical limit deal; Romania housing bank State aid approved.
📋 In This Week's Newsletter
• 📅 This Week's Calendar in Brussels
• 🇪🇺 European Commission
• ⚖️ EU Legislation
• 🤝 EU Council
• ✒️ EP Committee Work
This Week's Calendar in Brussels
- Committee on the Housing Crisis in the EU (HOUS): On June 29, the European Parliament's Committee on the Housing Crisis in the EU (HOUS) is scheduled to meet. Agenda includes: Chair’s announcements; Date of next meetings; Feedback from the HOUS mission to Dublin, Ireland, 26-28 May 2026.
European Commission
Commission approves €1 billion State aid for Romania's investment and development bank
On 25 June 2026, the European Commission approved new Romanian State aid measures for Banca de Investiții și Dezvoltare S.A. ('BID'), Romania’s national investment and development bank. The package includes a €1 billion capital increase—€100 million of which is financed by the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF)—and an extension of the State guarantee backing BID's operations from 2028 to 31 December 2032. The measures also expand BID’s scope to cover new strategic sectors such as defence, high-tech manufacturing and cybersecurity. The Commission assessed the notification under Article 107(3)(c) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU), finding the support necessary, appropriate and proportionate to address market failures. The approval also takes into account safeguards to prevent undue competition distortions.
EU Legislation (Official Journal)
Regulation (EU) 2026/1384: New steel safeguards regime enters into force
Regulation (EU) 2026/1384 of 17 June 2026 extends safeguard measures on steel imports and raises the out-of-quota tariff rate to 50%. The Regulation restructures the Union’s response to global steel overcapacity, sets annual and quarterly tariff quotas through Annex II, and introduces new provisions such as 'melt and pour' origin evidence for steel products. Country distribution of quotas will be determined by implementing acts. The Regulation enters into force on 25 June 2026 and applies from 1 July 2026.
Regulation (EU) 2026/1386: Foreign direct investment screening rules harmonised
Regulation (EU) 2026/1386, published on 26 June 2026, establishes a single, harmonised framework for screening foreign investments across the EU. It repeals Regulation (EU) 2019/452. Member States are required to apply minimum common criteria for screening FDI in sectors such as defence, critical infrastructure, AI, and key raw materials. The Regulation sets new rules for national screening mechanisms and cross-border cooperation, and will apply from 17 January 2028.
EU Council
EPSCO Council will address demographic trends and housing
At the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council scheduled for 29 June 2026, Ministers are set to approve conclusions on the link between demographic change and housing policy and will discuss student and middle-income housing security.
EP Committee Work
Committee on the Housing Crisis reviews EU housing supply responses
The Committee on the Housing Crisis in the EU met in Brussels on 24 June 2026. The agenda included an assessment of regional development tools for increasing affordable housing supply and ongoing evaluation of EU-level and Member State interventions addressing the affordability gap and rising demographic pressures.
