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BOUYGUES EUROPE

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Bouygues is a French industrial group active in construction, real estate, telecoms, media and energy services.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Andreas Schwab (Member of the European Parliament)

13 Jan 2026 · Digital Networks Act

TF1 Group Urges EU to Relax Television Advertising Rules

19 Dec 2025
Topic — An evaluation and potential update of European rules governing audiovisual media services.
Message — The TF1 Group requests loosening television advertising restrictions and harmonizing these rules across Europe. They also advocate for ensuring that traditional broadcasters remain prominent and visible on smart TV interfaces.123
Why — This would help TF1 protect its advertising revenue against competition from global tech giants.456
Impact — Global streaming platforms and device manufacturers would lose their current regulatory advantage.78
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Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

5 Dec 2025 · Évolutions du secteur économique des médias et du modèle des radiodiffuseurs privés européens.

Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

5 Dec 2025 · Secteur audiovisuel, numérique et concurrence internationale.

Meeting with Andreas Schwab (Member of the European Parliament)

20 Nov 2025 · Digital Networks Act

Meeting with Anna Vernet (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera Rodríguez)

12 Nov 2025 · French telecom sector; Review of the Merger Guidelines; Digital Networks Act (DNA).

Construction giant Bouygues urges EU circularity rules via public procurement

6 Nov 2025
Topic — EU Circular Economy Act to enhance competitiveness through sustainable production and recycled materials.
Message — Bouygues requests mandatory sustainability requirements in public procurement directives, greater focus on reuse alongside recycling, and careful EPR design learning from French implementation failures. They emphasize that without client specifications prioritizing circularity, competitive pressures prevent sustainable solutions.1234
Why — This would enable them to offer circular solutions without losing contracts to cheaper traditional competitors.56
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Bouygues urges EU to strengthen building carbon rules

31 Oct 2025
Topic — EU framework for calculating life-cycle global warming potential of new buildings.
Message — The company requests stricter product data standards using EN 15804 A2, making refurbishment and water use calculations mandatory, and adopting the B1 approach for renewable energy calculations. They want zero emissions assigned to reused construction products.123
Why — This would create competitive advantage from their French RE2020 experience and boost their reuse practices.45
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Response to New European Bauhaus

17 Oct 2025

CONTRIBUTION by BOUYGUES Europe on behalf of the BOUYGUES GROUP As a contribution to your call for evidence on the future of the New European Bauhaus, we are pleased to share with you our companys approach to the sustainable neighborhoods of tomorrow which we named LIVING AVENUES . It is structured around 4 actionable levers: Energy - Water Biodiversity Community Living. Attached is a document containing the links to our bilingual booklet (FR - EN) detailing the Living Avenues concept as well as to a video of the mockup of a neighborhood illustrating some elements of it. Our subsidiary Bouygues Construction holds the presidency of the ECTP (European Construction Technology Platform), partner of the Commission in the Built 4 People Partnership (B4P) of Horizon Europe. B4P and NEB teams are already collaborating intensively on joint calls as well as on joint communication on the common objectives that drive us towards a higher quality of life for citizens with lower climate and environmental impacts. We remain available for any further exchange to detail the solutions we propose and are willing to contribute further on the future NEB Communication and NEB Recommendation. Paul CARTUYVELS BOUYGUES Europe, Executive Director
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Bouygues urges stability in CBAM implementation for multi-year construction projects

25 Sept 2025
Topic — Adjustment of CBAM certificate obligations linked to EU ETS free allowances phase-out.
Message — The company requests urgent clarity on CBAM implementation rules and calculation methods. They emphasize the need for stable, long-term provisions to enable accurate cost assessment for multi-year construction projects.123
Why — This would provide cost certainty for their multinational subsidiaries bidding on long-term construction contracts.45
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Bouygues Group urges EU to back industrial construction methods

18 Sept 2025
Topic — European strategy to increase housing supply through improved construction productivity and competitiveness.
Message — The company requests economic and administrative incentives to convert brownfield sites into housing, faster building permit procedures, and updated regulations to support off-site construction. They argue permit delays have doubled to 36 months and current building codes are not adapted to industrialized methods.123
Why — This would reduce upfront costs and accelerate their modular construction projects by 30-50%.456
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Bouygues urges EU to embed climate resilience in public procurement

4 Sept 2025
Topic — EU regulation on climate preparedness, resilience and harmonised climate risk management rules.
Message — The company requests climate resilience be integrated into public procurement directives and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. They want EU funding programs like HORIZON and LIFE to prioritize demonstrators and pilot projects for construction innovation. They seek fairer insurance frameworks to share climate risks among stakeholders.1234
Why — This would help them manage construction delays and economic risks from extreme weather events.56
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Meeting with Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President) and

4 Sept 2025 · Roundtable with representatives of the media industry

Meeting with Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President) and

4 Sept 2025 · Meeting with EU commercial broadcasters

Meeting with Arthur Corbin (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné) and TotalEnergies SE and

10 Jul 2025 · Clean industrial deal Financement Simplification

Meeting with Mika Aaltola (Member of the European Parliament) and Atlantic Council of the United States, Inc

2 Jul 2025 · EU Affairs

Bouygues Telecom calls for stable regulation and data efficiency

24 Jun 2025
Topic — The EU's proposal to improve high-speed broadband and digital infrastructure investment.
Message — Bouygues requests that the EU preserve current regulations that ensure fair infrastructure access. They also propose mandatory data efficiency rules for video content providers.12
Why — Maintaining these rules ensures a stable investment environment and lowers infrastructure costs.34
Impact — Content providers would be forced to limit video resolution and technical settings.5
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Meeting with Silke Dalton (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen)

14 May 2025 · Upcoming initiatives from the EC, especially with regards to the Digital networks act

Meeting with Alberto Bacchiega (Director Competition)

13 May 2025 · Discussion on the audiovisual sector in France and Europe

Meeting with Thomas Schmitz (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen)

13 May 2025 · Media Industry

Meeting with Annemiek Wilpshaar (Head of Unit Competition)

13 May 2025 · Meeting with TF1 - Present the interest representatives’ views on EU audiovisual and competition policies

Meeting with Anna Vernet (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera Rodríguez), Sean Mernagh (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera Rodríguez)

13 May 2025 · Situation and challenges of the audiovisual sector in the EU.

Response to Foreign Subsidies Guidelines

2 Apr 2025

Bouygues welcomes the Commission's work to clarify the implementation of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. Since it came into force, our entities have already been subject on several occasions to the notification exercise when participating in public tenders. As a result of this experience, we have identified certain points that need to be clarified in order to minimize the administrative burden of these obligations, as well as to ensure compliance with the regulation. While these guidelines will serve to specify how to determine whether a foreign subsidy distorts the internal market, we call on the Commission to also better clarify what constitutes a financial contribution. Indeed, our entities find it difficult to define what does or does not constitute a financial contribution within the meaning of the Regulation, and it is clear that the understanding of this central element varies from one company to another. Article 3, 2, c) recognizes the provision of goods or services or the purchase of goods or services as constituting a financial contribution. Does this definition cover the provision or purchase of goods or services which are not carried out under market conditions, i.e. without competitive tendering procedures? Does the provision or purchase of goods or services from public enterprises in third countries also represent a financial contribution within the meaning of the regulation? Based on the same questions and still in article 3, the notion of government and public authorities at all other levels also raises the question of the criteria to be used to identify these public authorities, and raises the question of the limit concerning all other levels. Such clarifications are necessary both to enable companies to ensure their compliance with the requirements of the regulation, and to ensure a common interpretation between companies. Indeed, the contracts that fall within the scope of the FSR are large-scale projects, whose bids are often submitted by groups of companies. In such cases, notification procedures can pose problems of confidentiality or coordination within the consortium. Companies have 2 options for meeting their notification obligations: Notification on the basis of a common file: this option implies sharing information within the consortium, often confidential and potentially sensitive information unrelated to the project in question. Given that competing companies regularly find themselves in such consortium, this option is often discarded. Notification on the basis of individual company files: in this case, we have observed differences in the reading and interpretation of the regulations by the different companies in the same group. This leads to a disparate consolidated file being delivered to the customer, with significant differences between the companies' declarations. Although each member assumes his or her own responsibilities towards the authorities, there is a risk that the consortium's image could be damaged, or that the validity of its application could be called into question due to a narrow reading of the regulations by certain partners. We therefore invite the Commission to provide as much clarification as possible to prevent this kind of problem."
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Meeting with Arthur Corbin (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné), Vincent Hurkens (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné) and

1 Apr 2025 · Simplification of sustainability reporting

Bouygues Urges EU to Drop Fixed Taxonomy Reporting Thresholds

26 Mar 2025
Topic — The initiative proposes simplifying sustainability reporting requirements within the EU Taxonomy framework.
Message — Bouygues recommends replacing fixed quantitative thresholds with a general materiality principle aligned with financial reporting. They also propose removing mandatory reporting for operational expense indicators due to their complexity. Finally, they suggest exempting construction activities from specific chemical substance monitoring.123
Why — These changes would significantly reduce the group's administrative burden and compliance costs.45
Impact — Investors and regulators lose granular data on industrial environmental impacts and spending.6
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Meeting with Laurence Farreng (Member of the European Parliament)

24 Mar 2025 · Audiovisuel et IA

Meeting with Emma Rafowicz (Member of the European Parliament)

18 Mar 2025 · Audiovisuel, cinéma et médias

Bouygues urges EU to prioritize environmental criteria over price

7 Mar 2025
Topic — Evaluation of EU directives governing public procurement for concessions, utilities, and general sectors.
Message — Bouygues recommends reducing the weighting of price to favor environmental performance and carbon footprint. They advocate for using established European standards and better integration of innovative project variants.123
Why — This shift would enhance their competitiveness by rewarding their investment in sustainable infrastructure solutions.45
Impact — Low-cost foreign competitors lose their edge as procurement criteria shift from price to carbon footprint.6
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Response to European Water Resilience Strategy

4 Mar 2025

Bouygues supports the European Commission's initiative to develop a strategy for water resilience in Europe. For several years, our entities have been analyzing the risks associated with the reduction and/or degradation of water resources, seeking to limit the impact on this resource and anticipate potential obstacles to the development of our activities. Our reflections on water have led us to analyze the risks to our business and the levers we can use to reduce our impact, considering : - Monitoring our water consumption - Reducing our water consumption - Recycling/reuse possibilities and obstacles encountered - Limiting the artificialization/waterproofing of soils - Adapting to climate change and identifying water-stressed areas Here are the issues we identified and our key recommendations : Efficient use of water means controlling and optimizing the quantity of water consumed for our activities. To develop a relevant and effective water efficiency policy, the Commission must consider the following issues: - Water reuse/recycling - what quality for what use? : Optimizing water reuse and recycling is crucial. However, obstacles prevent the construction industry from fully exploiting this potential. We recommend a "what quality for what use?" approach, clearly defining the concepts of "recycled" and "reused" water and the conditions for their use according to the required quality. For example, certain on-site applications do not require high-quality water but are subject to constraints (regulatory, current standards, customer demands) that prevent us from using recycled or reused water. - "Permanent" and "temporary" activities : The Commission must consider the fixed/permanent or mobile/temporary nature of an activity. An industrial activity on a permanent site will not encounter the same problems as a mobile and temporary activity like construction. For example, precise monitoring of water consumption on a mobile site is currently difficult due to multiple sourcing and discharging points and the complexity of centralizing consumption monitoring. - Water performance of buildings and infrastructures : If water performance requirements are defined for construction works, these requirements must be imposed on the client (public or private), who will place the order and own the finished work. This will incentive the entire value chain to improve the performance of the finished work without losing competitiveness. A similar regulation exists in France concerning the carbon footprint of buildings with the RE2020 legislation. - Unavoidable consumption : Unlike climate change mitigation measures aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero, water consumption can never be reduced to zero. It is important to consider both "unavoidable" consumption and consumption that can be optimized and reduced. Adaptation to climate change : Despite more efficient use of water, our activities will inevitably have to adapt to climate change and its consequences on water resources. Bouygues Construction and Colas are starting to use tools for mapping water-stressed areas, but these tools do not take into account all necessary parameters. It is necessary to develop an effective tool for mapping water-stressed areas considering all relevant factors. Please find attached, a more detailed response.
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Meeting with Marco Giorello (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology) and EuroCommerce and

4 Mar 2025 · Code of Conduct on Online Advertising – Workshop 1

Response to Implementing Act on non-price criteria in renewable energy auctions

21 Feb 2025

Bouygues welcomes the regulatory framework proposed by the NZIA regulation, and in particular the implementing act defining the non-price criteria to be applied in future calls for tender for renewable energy projects. This initiative will clarify these criteria so that they can be applied uniformly throughout the EU. Bouygues Travaux Publics, one of Europe's leading industrial players in the construction sector, is deploying all its skills in the offshore wind power market to offer a design-and-build service for reinforced concrete turbine foundations. As Bouygues Construction is now committed to a strategy of reducing the carbon footprint of its activities, approved by SBTi in 2023, we therefore must propose solutions that limit the environmental impact of our projects as much as possible.In this context, we feel it is important to share our point of view and feedback in order to contribute to the Commission's work, so that the criteria defined in this implementing act fully benefit the European net-zero technologies industry. On the resilience criteria, we welcome the choice of a demanding threshold of 50% dependency to trigger the use of resilience criteria. However, we are concerned about the practicalities of the Commission's assessment of supply dependencies. Our comments are as follows: How often does the Commission intend to update this supply chain assessment? We recommend that the data be updated at least once a year. NZIA requires that the supply chain resilience assesment is done in live with the Customs Code (Regulation (EU) 952/2013). In the case of foundations for off-shore wind, it seems no specific code exists for such component, which could lead to distorted data or circumvention. The Commission should make sure all NZIA components are identified by a specific code under this regulation. Clarification on these points is needed We also wonder about the interaction between the 50% threshold for dependence on a third country, obliging member states to include resilience criteria, and the obligation for member states to apply non-price criteria to at least 30% of the volume of renewable energies auctioned per year. What are the obligations for a member state if the Commission identifies a situation of over 50% dependence, but the member state has already applied off-price criteria to more than 30% of its annual volume of renewable energy auctioned? Clarification is needed on how resilience thresholds and criteria work. On sustainability criteria, when it comes to off-shore wind the European industry is able to provide solutions with a carbon footprint 2 to 3 times lower than most foundations from third countries. It is therefore crucial that this type of criteria is optimally defined and used as much as possible in future renewable energy tenders. Our main recommandations for this criteria are as follow : Use it as an award criteria: carbon footprint criterion should be used as an award criterion rather than a pre-qualification criterion, as the pre-qualification criterion does not allow for any real differentiation between candidates. Some main components are in the field of construction : The foundations of offshore wind turbines, whether installed or floating, rely on skills and manufacturing processes that belong to the field of construction, rather than industrial products resulting from the assembly of sub-components. We therefore recommend clearly stipulating the possibility of relying on Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) to justify the carbon footprint of the building materials used. This reference forms the basis for communicating the environmental performance of materials in the construction sector, and allows the energy mix of the country in which the materials and products are produced to be taken into account. We are also concerned about the importance given to the PEF in the current version of the text, since this methodology is currently not being used in our field of activity
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Bouygues Urges Ocean Pact to Support Offshore Energy

17 Feb 2025
Topic — The European Oceans Pact aims to create a holistic vision for maritime policies.
Message — The pact must encompass diverse activities like offshore wind and mineral extraction rather than focusing only on fishing. Regulations should be based on better scientific data and must not hinder renewable energy deployment.123
Why — Broadening the pact's scope protects the company's commercial interests in offshore construction and marine resources.4
Impact — Environmental groups may see marine conservation compromised if energy infrastructure is prioritized before impacts are understood.56
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Meeting with Emmanuelle Du Chalard (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

6 Feb 2025 · Exchange of views on Article 15 of the Directive on copyright in the Digital Single Market

Meeting with Lucrezia Busa (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology) and Orange and

31 Jan 2025 · Meeting organized by ARCEP with local authorities and operators on fiber (FTTH) network infrastructure in France. Operators took part only to some part of the meetings.

Meeting with Egelyn Braun (Cabinet of Commissioner Michael McGrath), Jördis Ferroli (Cabinet of Commissioner Michael McGrath) and

24 Jan 2025 · Exchange of views on media related policies, including the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) and consumer protection

Meeting with Lucrezia Busa (Head of Unit Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

22 Jan 2025 · Overview of French access market regulation and future Commission initiatives

Meeting with Pierre Jouvet (Member of the European Parliament) and Orange and

22 Jan 2025 · Dîner des grandes entreprises

Meeting with Valérie Hayer (Member of the European Parliament) and Airbus and

21 Jan 2025 · Politique économique européenne

Meeting with Laurence Farreng (Member of the European Parliament) and Airbus and

21 Jan 2025 · Défis européens des grandes entreprises françaises

Meeting with Stéphane Séjourné (Executive Vice-President) and

10 Jan 2025 · Telecoms

Meeting with Pablo Arias Echeverría (Member of the European Parliament)

4 Dec 2024 · Upcoming parliamentary work affecting the telecommunications sector, such as the Digital Fairness Act, Digital Networks Act, Digital Markets Act enforcement, net neutrality, and competition policy.

Meeting with Kristian Vigenin (Member of the European Parliament)

4 Dec 2024 · Future initiatives

Meeting with Bruno Tobback (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Nov 2024 · Outlook for the upcoming mandate on telecom, tech and innovation

Meeting with Alexandra Geese (Member of the European Parliament)

12 Nov 2024 · Digital policies: targeted advertising, sustainability, telecoms

Meeting with Kerstin Jorna (Director-General Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) and Orange and

8 Oct 2024 · General discussion on Taxonomy and CSRD deployment.

Bouygues urges EU to restrict addictive platform features for minors

23 Sept 2024
Topic — EU consultation on guidelines to ensure high levels of safety for minors online.
Message — The group recommends restricting nudge features that drive uncontrolled use like infinite content walls. They advocate for buttons like See more instead of automatic video launching.12
Why — Reducing bandwidth-heavy features like auto-play lowers operational costs for Bouygues' telecommunications infrastructure.34
Impact — Major digital platforms would lose revenue from lower user engagement and screen time.5
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Meeting with Gerassimos Thomas (Director-General Taxation and Customs Union) and Airbus and

9 Sept 2024 · Physical meeting - Exchange on EU Taxation and Customs policy priorities

Meeting with Magda Kopczynska (Director-General Mobility and Transport) and Airbus and

15 Jul 2024 · Transport and mobility priorities / Funding / Decarbonization solutions

Response to Environmental Implementation Review 2025

5 Jul 2024

En tant qu'acteur européen majeur dans les secteurs du bâtiment, des travaux publics et des services multi techniques, le groupe Bouygues est fortement concerné par la bonne mise en œuvre de la politique environnementale européenne. Qu'il s'agisse du domaine public ou privé, nous pensons que la réglementation est un vecteur essentiel pour faire avancer les sujets environnementaux et climatiques de manière ambitieuse mais aussi harmonisée. En réponse à cette consultation, nous avons souhaité détailler certains freins réglementaires que nous rencontrons en France dans le secteur du bâtiment/de la construction, principalement concernant les processus de validation qui sont un obstacle important à l'émergence de nouvelles solutions répondant aux principes d'économie circulaire. Une meilleure intégration des innovations et des dernières avancées technologiques dans les opérations publiques, nous semble également être un levier majeur pour dynamiser l'innovation sur les thématiques environnementales. Ce point nous amène à notre second axe de recommandations, qui concerne une mise à contribution significative de la commande publique pour permettre le déploiement massif de solutions vertueuses à l'échelle d'un pays. Nous soulevons donc la nécessité d'un poids plus important donné aux critères environnementaux lors de la notation des offres, ainsi qu'une meilleure mesurabilité de ces critères et de la mise en place de méthodes de calcul harmonisées, afin d'assurer la comparabilité des réponses des différents candidats et de mieux guider ces derniers dans l'élaboration de leurs offres. Nous souhaitons également pousser la prise en considération dans les marchés publics des nouvelles thématiques environnementales émergentes telles que l'adaptation au changement climatique, la protection des ressources en eau et la protection de la biodiversité, c'est pourquoi nous nous positionnons en faveur d'une commande publique "taxonomy compliant", s'alignant sur les 6 objectifs de la taxonomie. Dans ce contexte, une éventuelle révision des directives européennes sur les marchés publics pourrait être envisagée mais prendrait néanmoins plusieurs années. Cest pourquoi, nous souhaitons suggérer ici que la Commission puisse travailler dès que possible sur lélaboration de lignes directrices (guidelines) qui permettraient dencourager les Etats-membres à intégrer de manière optimale ces objectifs climatiques et environnementaux dans la passation des marchés publics.
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Bouygues Telecom Urges EU to Adopt French Fibre Access Model

26 Jun 2024
Topic — A consultation on the European Commission's White Paper regarding future digital infrastructure and connectivity needs.
Message — Bouygues Telecom requests that the EU preserve existing access regulations and specifically promotes the French model for shared fibre networks. They also call for mandatory eco-design standards for digital services to optimize bandwidth usage and data efficiency.123
Why — This approach reduces network expansion costs and prevents the recreation of monopolies that would threaten their business model.45
Impact — Major content providers would face new technical restrictions and costs related to mandatory data efficiency and traffic agreements.67
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Meeting with Mairead McGuinness (Commissioner) and Orange and

26 Jun 2024 · Sustainability policies, in particular CSRD, Taxonomy

Meeting with Alfred Sant (Member of the European Parliament)

13 Feb 2024 · Payments Services Regulation

Meeting with Eleonora Ocello (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

18 Dec 2023 · Telecom policy

Meeting with Kurt Vandenberghe (Director-General Climate Action) and Airbus and

24 Oct 2023 · Cercle des Grandes Entreprises françaises

Meeting with Laurence Farreng (Member of the European Parliament) and Schneider Electric and

17 Oct 2023 · Rencontres avec les grandes entreprises françaises

Meeting with Valérie Hayer (Member of the European Parliament) and Schneider Electric and

17 Oct 2023 · Politique industrielle européenne

Meeting with Roberto Viola (Director-General Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

17 Jul 2023 · connectivity

Meeting with Eleonora Ocello (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

12 Jul 2023 · Telecom policy

Meeting with Liliane Karlinger (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager), Simon Genevaz (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

12 Jul 2023 · OTT fair share and Gigabit Recommendation

Meeting with Eleonora Ocello (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

29 Jun 2023 · European Media Freedom Act, DMA, audiovisual policy

Meeting with Liliane Karlinger (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

29 Jun 2023 · Digital Market Act

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

8 Jun 2023 · European Media Freedom Act

Bouygues Europe urges reduction of taxonomy reporting burdens

3 May 2023
Topic — The EU is defining environmentally sustainable activities for green investment purposes.
Message — Bouygues requests simplifying pollutant testing requirements and including more infrastructure types like public lighting. They argue the current targets for using recycled materials in construction are too high and difficult to document.123
Why — This would minimize administrative overhead and ensure their construction activities qualify for green investment.4
Impact — Looser chemical checks could leave building occupants exposed to a wider range of pollutants.5
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Response to Fighting against online piracy of live content

10 Feb 2023

Bouygues Europe represents the Bouygues Group in Brussels. The company encompasses a wide range of activities including telecommunications (Bouygues Telecom) and media (TF1). As a leader in TV broadcasting, TF1 often faces the issue of piracy of its audiovisual content. Moreover, as an Internet service provider (ISP), Bouygues Telecom is actively participating in combating sports piracy. 1. Guaranteeing freedom of choice of the ISP concerning blocking techniques By freedom of choice in blocking techniques, Bouygues Telecom operates Domain Name System (DNS) blocking: a proven technique for blocking content on the internet consisting in the blacklisting of domain name on the ISP's DNS servers. DNS servers make possible to carry out the millions of daily DNS resolutions necessary to access a website by translating a domain name into an IP address. ISPs must remain free to choose their blocking techniques because of the specificities of their networks. Some ISPs can implement IP blockings without technical difficulties despite high risks of over blocking and network shutdown. In France, IP blockings are more complicated to implement and do not appear necessary. 2. Promoting the conclusion of agreement between ISPs and sport rights owners Since the French law n°2021-1382 (October 25, 2021) relating to the regulation and protection of access to cultural works in the digital era, mirror sites broadcasting sport piracy content, which have already been targeted by a blocking order, can be blocked at the request of the public authority. Moreover, after several months of negotiations, French ISPs and sport rights owners have reached, in January 2023, an agreement which: - Facilitates legal process; - Automates DNS blockings of mirror sites thanks to an interface developed and delivered by the Regulatory Authority for Audiovisual and Communication. The delay of blocking operations will drastically decrease (from around 3 days to less than an hour as soon as the ISP receives the request by the Regulatory Authority); - Shares the costs of DNS blockings incurred by ISPs with sport rights owners ISPs invest a lot to ensure that their machines and information systems can operate all the legal blockings (terrorist, child abuse material, cultural piracy). It is important to make sure that ISPs recover at least the costs of the blockings they take on to maintain a high level of protection for the beneficiaries of the blockings. Thanks to this agreement, piracy content can be blocked more quickly and more effectively, and costs are shared. Bouygues Europe calls for the maintain of this flexible and smooth approach. 3. Promoting the conclusion of agreements between hosting services providers and sport rights owners ISPs are only technical intermediaries. If the blocking actions taken can have a positive effect on piracy content, it is obvious that the closer to the content the protection is set, the better will be the protection itself and the more unlikely will be the risk of infringement to fundamental rights. It is thus crucial that hosting services providers and search engines (that have the responsibility of monitoring the content while ISPs are just the pipe) participate at least with the same diligence as ISPs into the fight against sport piracy (e.g., by reaching agreement with sport rights owners). Indeed, by hosting or referencing services or content, they are in a good position to take appropriate and proportionate measures (e.g., de-referencing measures). 4. Going further on dynamic blocking injunctions Bouygues Europe supports the use of dynamic injunctions to fight against live content piracy. However, it is essential to make sure that the judicial authority or a public authority remains the only body able to characterize the infringement. ISPs cannot autonomously assess whether a certain website infringes the same intellectual property rights as a website for which the original injunction was received.
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Meeting with Werner Stengg (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

8 Feb 2023 · OTT fair share.

Meeting with Christophe Grudler (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Feb 2023 · Déploiement des réseaux

Meeting with Eleonora Ocello (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

8 Feb 2023 · Connectivity package

Meeting with Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Feb 2023 · Fair share

Meeting with Valérie Hayer (Member of the European Parliament)

8 Feb 2023 · Echange sur Fair Share

Meeting with Petra Kammerevert (Member of the European Parliament) and Google and

1 Feb 2023 · European Media Freedom Act

Meeting with Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (Member of the European Parliament)

1 Dec 2022 · Fair Share

Meeting with Marie Frenay (Cabinet of Vice-President Věra Jourová)

8 Nov 2022 · European Media Freedom Act

Meeting with Antoine Colombani (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and TotalEnergies SE and

25 Oct 2022 · Green Deal state of play

Meeting with Florentine Hopmeier (Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen) and Airbus and

16 Sept 2022 · SOTEU, energy, RepowerEU, Recovery and Resilience Facility

Meeting with Olivier Guersent (Director-General Competition)

7 Sept 2022 · Discussion on big tech platforms

Meeting with Filomena Chirico (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

13 Jun 2022 · OTT contribution to infrastructure rollout

Meeting with Kim Jorgensen (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager), Penelope Papandropoulos (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager), Werner Stengg (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

10 Jun 2022 · Financing of telecom networks.

Meeting with Pascal Canfin (Member of the European Parliament)

19 Apr 2022 · Energy

Meeting with Thierry Breton (Commissioner) and

8 Apr 2022 · Endorsing the Joint statement on Roaming and International calls between EU and Ukraine

Meeting with Thierry Breton (Commissioner) and

29 Mar 2022 · Efforts to facilitate Roaming with Ukraine

Meeting with Anthony Whelan (Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen)

16 Mar 2022 · Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act

Meeting with Agnieszka Skonieczna (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

2 Mar 2022 · Media Freeedom Act; Audiovisual Dialogue

Meeting with Penelope Papandropoulos (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager), Werner Stengg (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

2 Mar 2022 · Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, AI Act.

Meeting with Anthony Whelan (Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen)

14 Feb 2022 · the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act

Meeting with Penelope Papandropoulos (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager), Werner Stengg (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

17 Nov 2021 · Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act

Meeting with Agnieszka Skonieczna (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton), Filomena Chirico (Cabinet of Commissioner Thierry Breton)

10 Nov 2021 · Audio-visual Media policy , DSA/DMA

Meeting with Thierry Breton (Commissioner) and

15 Jun 2021 · Telecom policy, Cybersecurity.

Response to Climate change mitigation and adaptation taxonomy

18 Dec 2020

« FESTINA LENTE » Auguste, cité par Suétone (« hâte-toi lentement ») Notre souhait est que la Commission envisage la révision de son calendrier d’adoption de l’Acte délégué pour les objectifs climatiques (atténuation et adaptation) au minimum au 31.03.2021, au mieux au 30.06.2021 pour créer un temps d’intersection et de réflexion commune avec le travail qui sera en cours sur l’Acte délégué pour les objectifs environnementaux (eaux ; économie circulaire ; pollution ; biodiversité) et dont l’adoption est prévue au 31.12.2021. Les motivations principales sont doubles : . La densité et la complexité du document récemment publié qui doit pouvoir être analysé sereinement plus longtemps et être accompagné d’une étude d’impact. . L’analyse DNSH des objectifs climatiques vis à vis des objectifs environnementaux, si elle est figée dès à présent, limite fortement la liberté de travail du groupe d’experts de haut niveau qui va se pencher dès janvier 2021 précisément sur ces objectifs environnementaux. BOUYGUES Europe soutient pleinement la volonté de la Commission européenne de faire du Climat et de l’Environnement les priorités sur lesquelles articuler le développement de l’UE, au bénéfice et avec la participation de tous les citoyens. La proposition d’Acte délégué relatifs aux objectifs climatiques soulève plusieurs problèmes d’ordre général, en dehors des inquiétudes spécifiques que peuvent soulever les secteurs économiques visés. Par ailleurs, si la volonté initiale était de faciliter pour les investisseurs la définition d’un investissement vert, il est apparu rapidement que celle-ci dépendait directement de la définition d’une activité verte, et que dès lors la charge de la preuve et donc les contraintes, allaient principalement peser sur les acteurs des activités économiques identifiées. Quelques thématiques globales sont reprises brièvement ci-dessous: . NOUVELLE ETUDE D’IMPACT : Cette étude d’impact aurait dû idéalement être présentée à la consultation publique SIMULTANEMENT aux propositions sur les critères techniques pour mieux juger de leur pertinence. . CHIFFRAGE ECONOMIQUE : des critères techniques non accompagnés d’estimations de leur coût ne peuvent constituer un cadre satisfaisant orienter tous les futurs investissements en Europe . MAÎTRISER LES INTERFERENCES AVEC LEGISLATION EN VIGUEUR : référence partielle à des textes existants et parfois à peine entrés en vigueur. Ceci n’offre pas un cadre juridique stable et sécurisant. . NON HARMONISATION ENTRE LES ETATS MEMBRES : possibilité de mise en œuvre différenciée entre Etats membres, et donc échec de la volonté d’harmonisation et donc de clarification pour les investisseurs. . EMPIETEMENT SUR LES ACTIVITES DU GROUPE D’EXPERTS POUR LES OBJECTIFS ENVIRONNEMENTAUX PREVU EN 2021 : Les critères techniques pour les objectifs climatiques sont accompagnés de leur analyse d’impact sur les critères environnementaux (Do No Significant Harm -DNSH), la marge de manœuvre pour le travail du nouveau groupe d’experts « objectifs environnementaux » en est plus limitée. Il serait donc logique de laisser ces deux premiers actes délégués « ouverts » pour une prise en compte juste et efficace de toutes les relations entre les différents objectifs. Il y a donc un risque réel de créer un cadre qui pourrait ne satisfaire ni les investisseurs ni les entreprises ni les donneurs d’ordre et n’aurait donc pas l’effet escompté sur le climat. En annexe une étude réalisée par un groupe d’étudiants de l’université de la Sorbonne à Paris qui ont analysé avec intérêt les propositions de la Commission pour la construction, les transports, l’énergie et l’information et la communication. Leur regard innovant ainsi que leurs interrogations auxquelles il faut pouvoir répondre contribueront utilement à l’évaluation des textes en leur état actuel.
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Response to New EU Soil Strategy - healthy soil for a healthy life

10 Dec 2020

BOUYGUES Europe strongly supports the Commission’s decision to put Soils at the heart of its vision for the future of the EU. The road map clearly describes the many challenges that we face together, and as a worldwide active company we also welcome the fact that both EU and UN goals coincide around the 2030 target of land degradation neutrality. The Commission’s Experts Mission on Soils who also published its report recently is another proof of its commitment to the challenge. Through our activities in the Construction Sector, both for buildings and infrastructures, we traditionally face the issue of soils management. The roadmap rightfully highlights the constraints to manage around soil sealing, pollution issues at various levels, impact on biodiversity, to mention a few… It is nevertheless important to take into account that a number of best practices already exists as well as very strict regulations in some Members States like France for example, and we therefore invite the Commission to take advantage of all these elements to benchmark the situation further than the statistics already provided in the roadmap. We will be glad to share our experiences both through the forthcoming consultation and announced meetings during 2021. An EU wide objective on Soils, like the one on CO2 emissions, should also allow a wise effort sharing between Member States, considering each specific situation. Population density and demographic pressure, geographic and ecosystems description, economic development can be extremely different. At this stage, these elements do not appear in the roadmap. A further step might even be needed towards regional and even local approaches, as the present soils management policies are often decided at those levels. The external dimension of EU’s impact on Soils, again like for the CO2 policy, is not clearly considered. In this case, it is mainly food production issues related to imports of both vegetal and animal foods for human consumption or feed for animal production inside the EU. A fair consideration of the global results should include those elements to confirm success of policies, but also for the solutions or compensation measures they can offer. Sharing a common goal at EU and World levels offers better readability, but as human, economic, or environmental pressures strongly differ, it will demand different solutions for different challenges. To mention only one, the world demographic growth to 9 billion people by 2050 should not have a significant share within the EU. Can inevitable urban sprawl in one place be neutralised by land restoration elsewhere or not ? Finally, will you also consider the potential role Public Procurement to offer the right framework for future soil friendly essential projects ? A good decision upstream can be much more efficient than a lot of regulation downstream. We are available to further continue the exchange to “Save Our Soils” together with enthusiasm. Paul CARTUYVELS E.U. Affairs Director BOUYGUES Europe
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Response to Intellectual Property Action Plan

21 Aug 2020

Bouygues Europe welcomes the opportunity to share its thoughts regarding the Commission’s IP action plan. Bouygues Europe represents the Bouygues Group in Brussels. The company encompasses a wide range of activities including construction, telecommunication and media. It is the media branch (TF1 Group) which is mostly involved regarding the IP action plan. TF1 Group is a European leader of TV broadcasting based in France, with 5 main free-to-air channels, 3 pay TV channels and is involved in many production (Newen Group) and digital assets (Unify Group). Context: piracy is increasing Piracy is constantly increasing since the beginning of Web 2.0. Many means are available to profit from piracy: video-sharing platforms, social networks, streaming, direct download, peer-to-peer, directories of pirate links, search engines… In recent years, a new means of piracy concerning mainly TV live feeds, through “IPTV” activities (box or application), has emerged, and video-sharing platforms and social networks tend to become directories of piracy links in addition to offering direct piracy materials. Piracy has the direct effect to weaken TV broadcasters and producers, prejudicing the whole creative ecosystem and capacities for broadcasters to invest in cultural, entertainment and news programmes. Return on investment in programmes, cultural diversity, fight against fake news and thus democracy in Europe are at stake. In parallel, piracy strengthens mainly US video-sharing platforms and social networks and many criminal groups, most of time operating outside Europe. In the existing copyright framework, it is up to rightholders to constantly detect, flag and notify all online piracy links and materials (manually or automatically via “fingerprint” solutions), in an infinite loop, which is time and money consuming and finally not efficient against the piracy phenomenon which still increases as previously mentioned. There is an urgent need to definitively strengthen the IPR framework and enable rightholders to recover post-Covid. Without strong measures, EU could accelerate the embrittlement of its culture and identity. Recommended Actions: upgrading IP protection systems in all European legislative initiatives  Copyright Directive implementation : to protect European cultural values and industries against extra-territorial systemic video-sharing platforms (i) notion of best efforts should be extended to its maximum in an evolutionary way, to take into account the permanent evolution of content recognition technologies and (ii) these technologies should be made fully transparent towards an independent authority (at national or European level) and regularly audited to make sure they do not include pro-piracy bias (as they are not visible from third parties as protected by business secret).  Digital Services Act: strong duties of care commitments should be implemented towards active platforms and any breach should conduct to directly engage liability of the player by the loss of the e-commerce liability exemption for passive players. These duties of care should be mainly: full transparency of algorithms managing automatic detection tools, “Know your Business Customer”, stay down obligations, “Follow the money” approach, trusted flaggers, transparentplatform’s policies regarding recurring infringers…  Broadcasters’ Treaty for neighbouring right: being an essential tool to tackle illegal offers from non-EU countries, this Treaty has to be concluded urgently.  Artificial intelligence: should be used in many ways to fight against piracy as systemic platforms belong to groups which are AI prescribers. With AI, fraudulent accounts, repeating infringers, piracy links and materials shall be detected more efficiently, users claim treatment by rightholders (relating to Copyright Directive) could be accelerated, etc. In any case, use of AI by platforms should be always directed in full transparency towards the competent independent authority
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Meeting with Olivier Guersent (Director-General Competition)

4 Feb 2020 · discussion on digital issues

Meeting with Roberto Viola (Director-General Communications Networks, Content and Technology)

5 Oct 2018 · DSM, Future digital policy, MFF/DEP

Meeting with Robert Schröder (Cabinet of Commissioner Carlos Moedas)

3 Oct 2018 · Research related to construction

Meeting with Andrus Ansip (Vice-President) and

19 Sept 2018 · e-privacy

Meeting with Manuel Mateo Goyet (Cabinet of Commissioner Mariya Gabriel)

25 Oct 2017 · copyrights directive and cab/sat regulation

Meeting with Eric Peters (Cabinet of Commissioner Mariya Gabriel)

22 Sept 2017 · Telecom

Meeting with Andrus Ansip (Vice-President) and

11 Jul 2016 · Copyright, satellite and cable directive, telecom review

Meeting with Antoine Colombani (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans), Bernardus Smulders (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and

7 Jul 2016 · Lunch Debat Grandes Entreprises Françaises - Better Regulation.

Meeting with Dominique Ristori (Director-General Energy)

18 May 2016 · Energy policy

Meeting with Hanna Hinrikus (Cabinet of Vice-President Andrus Ansip), Stig Joergen Gren (Cabinet of Vice-President Andrus Ansip)

17 May 2016 · Portability, AVMSD and CabSat

Meeting with Olivier Guersent (Director-General Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union)

2 Feb 2016 · Future of the financial institutions

Meeting with Szabolcs Horvath (Cabinet of Commissioner Tibor Navracsics)

18 Nov 2015 · Digital Single Market

Meeting with Fabien Dell (Cabinet of Commissioner Pierre Moscovici), Lucie Mattera (Cabinet of Commissioner Pierre Moscovici)

7 Oct 2015 · Revision of the AVMS directive and the question of portability of content

Meeting with Carl-Christian Buhr (Cabinet of Commissioner Phil Hogan)

1 Oct 2015 · Upcoming review of the AVMS directive

Meeting with Eric Mamer (Digital Economy) and Orange and

10 Sept 2015 · DSM

Meeting with Antoine Colombani (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans), Bernardus Smulders (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans) and

9 Jul 2015 · Stocktaking 1st Months of New Commission + Better Regulation

Meeting with Stig Joergen Gren (Cabinet of Vice-President Andrus Ansip)

3 Jun 2015 · Copyright, territoriality

Meeting with Adrienn Kiraly (Cabinet of Commissioner Tibor Navracsics)

22 Apr 2015 · Copyright