EFCI’s priorities and activities for 2024: committing to a strong EU cleaning industry representation in the next EU cycle.

As Belgium takes on the Presidency of the European Union in January 2024, the EU enters the last semester of the current political cycle and prepares for the next one, which will take our continent to 2030 and a new decade. In this institutional context, EFCI has defined a program for its actions for 2024 focused on raising the awareness on the role and contribution of the cleaning industry and increasing its visibility before the institutional actors, but also among the other actors of the industry.

The first appointment will be on March 6 in Brussels, on the occasion of an event during which EFCI will present its contribution – in terms of concrete proposals – for a more effective inclusion of the cleaning sector’s perspective in the policy agenda of the EU. A Manifesto ahead of the European elections of June 2024 to help policymakers understand better the challenges faced by the cleaning and facility management industry and suggest the most appropriate solutions to ensure that our industry can contribute at its best to the overall European economic growth and social progress. From a revision of the current provisions on public procurement to the integration of cleaning and sanitation dimensions in the future EU’s public health policies; from a more business-friendly approach to the future development of the environmental transition to a renewed attention to social dialogue and the autonomy of social partners – representatives of EFCI’s member associations and of the industry, MEPs and other institutional actors will gather to discuss these and other topics.

Later in the year, EFCI will be present at Interclean in Amsterdam, one of the exhibitions of the cleaning sector (together with CMS in Berlin, Europropre in Paris and several others) where the industry gathers to discuss new trends, the most recent technological innovations and the policy issues that are relevant to the development of the sector. EFCI will organize its General Assembly and will also present its Manifesto, in front of a larger, sector-oriented audience.

Finally, EFCI will be organizing – together with ANIP-Confindustria, its Italian Member organization, Confindustria HCFS and LIFE Foundation (Italian-based associations representing the labour-intensive industries) the 2024 edition of the LIFE event, which will be organized for the first time in Brussels in November. LIFE is the yearly summit of the Italian labour-intensive industry, and serves as a high-level forum of exchange and debate on the most important issues and prospects of modernization of the cleaning, contract catering and other sister industries, with the involvement of the Italian political and institutional world. The 2024 edition will be based on a true European dimension, to further stress the real impact on the continent’s economy of a sector that employs more than 4 million workers, with a strong societal impact and a major influence on the collective wellbeing.

Other appointments will mark EFCI’s agenda in 2024, also with a view to the run-up to the new EU political cycle and following the setting-up of the new European Commission and the renewal of the European Parliament. We will keep you informed on our communication channels, and share with you all the relevant details to ensure that you can be part of our initiatives and contribute to our success!