Soaring Construction Costs And The European Housing Crisis

by THEFUTURE.TEAM

September 12, 2025

Rising construction expenses and their subsequent impact on housing availability were the focal points during high-level discussions in Brussels. At the center of these talks was Stephanos Pierides, Secretary General of the Federation of Associations of Building Contractors (Oseok) and Head of Environmental Issues at the European Construction Industry Federation (Fiec), who highlighted the escalating financial pressures faced by the industry.

Industry Leaders Address Affordability Challenges

During his visit, Pierides engaged in separate meetings with Cypriot Members of the European Parliament, including Loukas Fourlas, Michalis Hatzipandelas, and Costas Mavrides. The discussions underscored how surging costs are straining the construction sector and exacerbating issues of housing affordability across Europe.

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Enhancing Strategic EU Collaboration

Pierides also met with Demetris Petrides, an Attaché at the Permanent Representation of Cyprus to the EU, with a clear agenda to bolster cooperation leading up to Cyprus’s forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2026. This dialogue is seen as instrumental in aligning national and EU-level policies that influence the future trajectory of the construction sector.

Commitment To Sustainability And Resilience

As Chairman of Fiec’s Subcommittee on Environment, Pierides actively contributed to discussions with Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jorgensen. Key topics included water adequacy and the pivotal role of the construction industry in supporting Europe’s transition towards greater resilience and sustainability.

The Road Ahead

Oseok’s involvement in Fiec not only reinforces Cyprus’s strategic stance but also ensures that national interests are effectively represented in shaping European policies. This active participation is crucial as the construction sector navigates growing challenges while steering towards a more sustainable future.

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Copyright Law Struggles To Keep Up With AI Training

by News Editor

August 24, 2026

Courts Are Still Applying Old Copyright Rules To AI

AI companies train models on enormous amounts of published material, including books, articles and academic research. Whether using that content without authors’ permission violates copyright law remains unresolved.

Much of the debate centres on fair use, which allows copyrighted material to be used without permission in certain circumstances. Courts consider factors such as the purpose of the use, how much material was involved and its impact on the original market.

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Anthropic Case Sets An Important Precedent

A major case involving Anthropic and a group of authors provided one of the clearest rulings so far. Judge William Alsup found that using copyrighted books to train AI models was lawful, comparing the process to people reading and studying literature before creating something new.

Anthropic was nevertheless ordered to pay $1.5 billion in a settlement. The penalty concerned books the company had obtained from illegal online libraries rather than the AI training itself.

For AI companies, that distinction could prove significant because it separates studying copyrighted material from directly copying it.

Competition Could Be The Key Issue

A case involving Thomson Reuters and Ross Intelligence offers a different perspective. A court ruled that Ross could not claim fair use after using Reuters’ copyrighted material to develop a competing AI-powered legal research platform.

The decision suggests courts may be less willing to consider AI training fair use when copyrighted content is used to build a product that directly competes with the original.

For authors, an unresolved question is whether AI-generated content should be considered competition for the works used to train these models.

The Law Has Yet To Catch Up

US copyright law predates generative AI by decades, leaving courts to apply old principles to new technology. Questions also remain over copyright protection for AI-generated works. In Thaler v. Perlmutter, a court ruled that material created entirely by AI cannot receive copyright protection.

Major AI companies remain involved in copyright litigation, and different courts could reach different conclusions. For now, there is no universal rule: the legality of AI training will depend on the circumstances of each case and how courts ultimately interpret copyright and fair use.

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