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PR 01/22 | The 74th General Meeting of the European Council of Civil Engineers convenes in Malta to discuss the challenges of Climate Change

Verżjoni bil-Malti

The 74th General Meeting of the European Council of Civil Engineers convened in Malta this morning. This was the first time this prestigious European federation convened in person since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. The event was organised with the support of the Ministry for Public Works and Planning.

 

 

 

Opening the general meeting, the ECCE President Engineer Andreas Brandner stated that the COVID and the war in Ukraine have caused serious disruptions to the production and shipping of materials across Europe resulting in significant inflation.

 

Brandner also remarked that the effects of the failure to maintain and upgrade critical European infrastructure, including water, transport and sewage systems, to cut public expenditure is becoming increasingly apparent. The measures that many European governments are now adopting, driven mainly by lobby groups, are resulting in an exorbitant waste of public funds. The ECCE president called for a more holistic approach in this regard.

 

 

Andre Pizzuto, President of the Kamra tal-Periti and host of the four-day event, spoke of the critical role of built environment professionals, and in particular civil engineers in addressing the climate emergency. Pizzuto remarked that “during these past two years, as members of society became more sharply aware of the vulnerability of humanity on this earth, the impetus to address the impending climate emergency gained renewed urgency.”

 

Pizzuto referred to research publications pointing to the fact that “Malta’s energy demand over the next thirty years is projected to grow significantly, as its population continues to also grow at a fast pace. By the end of this decade, buildings will account for over 50% of the energy demand. A further 30% will be consumed for transportation.”

 

“The dominance of cars in Malta, with 6 cars for every 5 inhabitants, further exacerbates the unsustainable energy demand in our country,” he warned.

 

The KTP President called on the European Commission and national governments across Europe to strengthen the engineering profession by affording it the recognition it merits and providing the necessary legislative and regulatory infrastructure for engineers to meet the challenges posed by the climate emergency in a safe and sustainable manner.

 

“Nobody in their right mind would have considered liberalising and lowering standards in the regulation of health professionals during the peak of the health crisis we have just been through. Then why does the Commission think it is appropriate to continue advancing the notion that dropping standards in engineering is appropriate in the midst of this environmental emergency?” he asked.

 

 

In his opening address, Minister for Public Works and Planning, Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi said that the Government, mindful of the challenges affecting the construction sector, mainly where human resource management is concerned, will be introducing new laws aimed at improving regulations in the field including those on the licensing of contractors and improving the skills of all workers in the sector. Once adopted, these laws will boost the quality and standards of the construction industry. The Minister added that it is also vital that a safe development process is also energy efficient and considers the needs of the public, particularly the end consumers. He stated that it is time for the Civil Engineers’ profession to take a more leading role in the planning and design processes. They need also to contribute towards helping the country to reach its net-zero target and climate action programmes. Minister Zrinzo Azzopardi stated that a healthy community in a resilient economy will look at these disruptions as an opportunity for change, a change for the better.

 

 

Kamra tal-Periti & Chamber of Engineers set up Inginiera Malta

On the 16th of December 2021, the Chamber of Engineers (CoE) and Kamra Tal-Periti (KTP) signed an agreement to set up a Joint Committee to be known as INĠINIERA MALTA that shall represent both professional organisations on the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI). The agreement was signed by CoE President Inġ. Malcolm Zammit and KTP President Perit Andre Pizzuto, in the presence of the CoE International Affairs representative, Inġ. Michelle Cortis and the KTP’s Engineering Committee Chairperson, Perit Dr Jeanette Muñoz Abela.

The two organisations have been in discussions to collaborate more closely for several months to ensure that Maltese civil engineers are represented at FEANI.

CoE and KTP have now formalised this relationship through Inġiniera Malta in order to increase the international visibility and participation of Inġiniera (under Inġiniera Act, Cap.321) and Periti Inġiniera Ċivili (under Periti Act, Cap. 622). The engineering professions in Malta shall now be represented internationally through this joint committee.

 

 

This agreement will also facilitate the process for Maltese Periti Inġiniera Ċivili applying for the prestigious Eur Ing title issued by FEANI, which helps enable recognition of engineering qualifications across Europe. The European Commission has recognised the FEANI Register and the EUR ING title as valuable tools for the recognition of national diplomas among member states.

The FEANI scheme is an excellent example of self-regulation by a profession at European level and it provides a model for other professional groups in the technical and scientific sector, such as chemists and physicists. The FEANI register recognizes and builds upon the diversity of forms of engineering education which exist in the Community and can adapt to any changes which may be decided upon at national level. The procedures for dealing with applications for registration also provide a good respective expertise. Registration on the FEANI register indicates that, whatever the duration or content of his or her initial training, the engineer has reached a certain level of professional competence, certified by his or her peers both at national and European level. Bearing in mind that Member States are required by the case law of the Court to take post-diploma professional experience into consideration, when reaching their decision on recognition, the Commission considers that an engineer who has obtained the title of Eur ING should not normally be required to undertake an adaptation period or sit an aptitude test, as provided for in Article 4 of Directive 89/48/EEC.

Note : The Directive 89/48/EEC has been replaced by the Directive 2005/36/EC – Directive on Recognition of Professional Qualifications, signed on 7 September 2005 in Strassbourg.

 

 

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