The European Council of Civil Engineers (ECCE) is proud to present the Braga Declaration: Modernising Construction – Engineering Europe's Sustainable, Resilient and Digital Future, adopted on 19 June 2026 during the 82^nd ECCE General Meeting in Braga, Portugal, and jointly signed by the ECCE President Platonas Stylianou and Ordem dos Engenheiros (OEP) President Fernando de Almeida Santos.

The Declaration represents a collective vision for the future of Europe's built environment and highlights the essential role of civil engineers in addressing the major challenges facing society through sustainable, resilient, innovative and digitally enabled engineering solutions.

Since its adoption, the Braga Declaration has continued to gain momentum, bringing together an expanding coalition of professional organisations, engineering institutions, universities and technical bodies that share its vision and have formally endorsed its principles.

A Common Vision for Europe's Built Environment

Europe is facing profound and interconnected challenges. Climate change, ageing infrastructure, increasing demand for affordable housing, resource constraints, rapid technological change and demographic developments require coordinated, forward-looking and evidence-based responses.

Civil engineers are uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. Through their expertise, innovation and commitment to the public interest, they play a fundamental role in designing, constructing and maintaining the infrastructure that supports society while protecting the natural environment.

The Braga Declaration reaffirms this responsibility and sets out a shared vision for a more sustainable, resilient, innovative and digitally enabled built environment. It also reinforces ECCE's commitment to supporting European institutions, national governments, industry, academia and professional organisations in developing policies and initiatives that improve quality of life for citizens across Europe.

Five Strategic Priorities

The Declaration identifies five strategic priorities that will guide ECCE's advocacy and policy work in the coming years:

🌍 Sustainability and Climate Resilience

Promoting low-carbon construction, climate adaptation, circular economy principles, resource efficiency and resilient infrastructure capable of meeting future environmental challenges.

🏗️ Modernisation of Construction

Accelerating the transformation of the construction sector through innovation, digitalisation, Building Information Modelling (BIM), Digital Twins, Modern Methods of Construction and smart infrastructure technologies.

🏠 Safe, Affordable and Sustainable Housing

Supporting practical engineering solutions that increase the supply of high-quality, affordable housing while maintaining the highest standards of safety, sustainability and resilience.

🤖 Responsible Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence

Promoting the ethical, transparent and accountable adoption of Artificial Intelligence and emerging digital technologies, ensuring that engineering judgement, professional responsibility and public trust remain at the centre of decision-making.

👩‍🎓 People, Skills and Professional Leadership

Investing in engineering education, lifelong learning, digital skills, professional development and the next generation of civil engineers to ensure Europe's long-term competitiveness.

These priorities build upon ECCE's recent initiatives, including the ECCE Manifesto on Climate, Resilience and Infrastructure, the ECCE–ECEC Joint Policy Paper on Safe and Affordable Housing, and the AIDE Position Paper on Artificial Intelligence for a Digital and Ethical Civil Engineering, creating a coherent strategic framework for the profession.

Growing International Support

The Braga Declaration has rapidly evolved beyond its adoption in Braga into a growing European initiative supported by organisations that recognise the importance of engineering leadership in shaping a safer, more sustainable and digitally enabled built environment.

As of August 2026, thirteen organisations have formally endorsed the Declaration, representing professional engineering institutions, technical chambers, universities, academic organisations and international engineering networks from Europe and beyond.

This growing coalition demonstrates the broad support for the Declaration's vision and reinforces the commitment of the engineering community to work together in addressing Europe's most pressing challenges.

The official Braga Declaration is updated periodically to include all supporting organisations through Annex I – Supporting Organisations.

Supporting Organisations

The following organisations have formally endorsed the Braga Declaration and joined this growing European initiative. ECCE sincerely thanks them for their commitment and support.

List of supporting organisations of the Braga Declaration:

• Association of European Civil Engineering Faculties (AECEF)
• International Safety and Health Construction Coordinators Organization (ISHCCO)
• International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI)
• Cyprus Association of Civil Engineers (CYACE)
• Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE)
• Chamber of Certified Architects and Certified Engineers of the Republic of North Macedonia (КОАИ)
• Estonian Association of Civil Engineers (EEL)
• Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects - Chamber of Civil Engineers (TMMOB IMO)
• Georgian Society of Civil Engineers (GSCE)
• Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber (ETEK)
• Federation of Arab Engineers (FAE)
• Neapolis University Pafos (NUP)
• Cyprus Organisation for Standardisation (CYS)

ECCE welcomes additional organisations that share the objectives of the Braga Declaration to join this growing coalition and contribute to strengthening the collective voice of the civil engineering profession across Europe and internationally.

Download the latest version of the Braga Declaration

The latest version of the Braga Declaration includes:

• the complete Declaration adopted in Braga;
• Annex I – Supporting Organisations (current list of organisations that have formally endorsed the Declaration).

📄 Download the latest Braga Declaration (PDF)

Latest update: 3 August 2026

Become a Supporting Organisation

ECCE warmly invites professional associations, engineering institutions, chambers, universities, academic organisations and other relevant stakeholders to join this growing European initiative by endorsing the Braga Declaration.

Supporting Organisations become part of an expanding international coalition committed to promoting engineering excellence, sustainability, resilience, innovation and ethical leadership in the built environment. Each new endorsement strengthens the collective voice of the engineering profession and contributes to advancing the Declaration's objectives at both European and international levels.

Organisations wishing to support the Declaration are invited to complete the official online endorsement form.

👉 Endorse the Braga Declaration: Google Form Link

New Supporting Organisations will be recognised through periodic updates of the official Braga Declaration and on the ECCE website.

OEP President Fernando de Almeida Santons (left) and ECCE President Platonas Stylianou (right) signing the Braga Declaration

OEP President Fernando de Almeida Santos (left) and ECCE President Platonas Stylianou (right)