Andorra is not joining the European Union.
The current process concerns an Association Agreement with the European Union, designed to allow Andorra to participate progressively in the European internal market while remaining a non-EU state.
The Council of the European Union authorised the signing and provisional application of the Agreement in July 2026. The Andorran Government has announced that the agreement will be signed in Brussels on 19 October 2026, while making clear that the signature itself does not make the Agreement applicable in Andorra and that the ratification process will follow.
For architecture, the most interesting question is therefore not simply whether “Andorra is entering Europe”, but rather:
which parts of the Agreement could concretely change the way architecture is designed, renovated, procured and practised in Andorra?
In summary: five areas directly concern architecture
The Agreement contains several areas closely connected with the sector:
- recognition of qualifications for architects and other professionals;
- provision of services between Andorra and EU countries;
- energy performance and renovation of buildings;
- technical regulations, standards, testing and certification;
- public procurement and competitions.
The Agreement does not mean all these changes will occur on the same day.
Some areas have adaptation periods, while others will require legislation, procedures or implementing decisions in Andorra.
1. Will practising as an architect in Andorra change?
This is one of the most concrete aspects of the Agreement.
Annex VII incorporates European Directive 2005/36/EC on the recognition of professional qualifications.
For Andorra, the text provides an adaptation period of three years from the entry into force of the Agreement for this directive. Consilium Data
Architecture is one of the professions specifically regulated within the European system for recognising qualifications.
This creates a common framework for dealing with professional qualifications obtained in Andorra and in EU countries.
There is, however, an important distinction between recognition of a qualification and an immediate right to practise a regulated profession.
The Agreement does not justify saying that any European architect will automatically be able to start signing projects in Andorra without formalities.
Recognition, registration, professional-body requirements where applicable and other conditions of practice will still need to be defined and applied.
The same logic applies to Andorran architects working in the opposite direction.
The new framework may facilitate recognition of qualifications within the internal market, but it does not mean that every national requirement for professional practice disappears.
One of the concrete questions for the profession will therefore be:
how will access to architectural practice be adapted in practice, and what role will the COAA and the public administration play in these procedures?
2. Will architects, engineers and consultants from different countries work together more often?
Contemporary architecture increasingly relies on multidisciplinary teams.
Architects, structural engineers, building-services consultants, energy specialists, acousticians, landscape architects, designers and BIM specialists may all contribute to the same project.
Annex X incorporates European Services Directive 2006/123/EC and also provides for a three-year adaptation period following entry into force. During this period, the text provides that Andorra should not maintain or introduce discriminatory treatment of EU service providers. Consilium Data
Official AndorraUE information for industrial and construction businesses also refers to easier provision of services in the EU, participation in tenders and recruitment of certain qualified professionals from the European market.
This defines a framework.
It does not yet tell us how the market will actually respond.
Will French-Andorran or Spanish-Andorran project teams become more common?
Will more European engineering consultancies work on projects in Andorra?
Will Andorran architecture practices find it easier to work on projects outside the country?
These are plausible questions arising from the objectives of the Agreement, but they should currently be treated as questions rather than established consequences.
3. Energy performance: probably one of the most direct impacts on design
For architects, one of the most relevant areas appears in Annex IV on energy.
The Agreement incorporates European Directive 2010/31/EU on the energy performance of buildings, with specific adaptations for Andorra.
The text provides for Andorra to establish a national objective aimed at moving towards a highly energy-efficient and decarbonised building stock, with indicative milestones for 2030, 2040 and 2050.
It also includes a long-term renovation strategy for the existing building stock. Consilium Data
The potential architectural consequences are very concrete.
They relate to:
- building-envelope design;
- thermal insulation;
- window and façade performance;
- thermal bridges;
- airtightness;
- heating and cooling;
- ventilation;
- energy production;
- overall building consumption;
- energy renovation of the existing building stock.
This does not mean that every condition for obtaining a building permit in Andorra will automatically change tomorrow.
Nor does it justify saying that Andorran regulations will simply copy current French or Spanish requirements.
The Andorran legislation implementing these obligations will need to be examined.
There is, however, a clear regulatory direction:
energy performance and renovation of the existing building stock are central elements of the adaptation linked to the Agreement.
4. Could renovation become even more important?
The relationship between the Agreement and building renovation is particularly relevant in Andorra.
A significant part of the existing building stock was constructed according to thermal and technical standards different from those applied today.
If the objective is progressively to move towards higher-performing buildings, the question cannot concern new construction alone.
It necessarily concerns the existing building stock.
The energy annex itself provides for a long-term renovation strategy. Consilium Data
From an architectural perspective, this raises several important questions:
will new requirements emerge for certain renovation projects?
will incentives for improving building envelopes and technical systems evolve?
will renovations combining internal reorganisation with energy upgrading become more common?
will more information progressively be required about the actual performance of existing buildings?
The overall direction is documented.
Its exact translation into obligations for an owner or a specific project will still need to be checked against future Andorran legislation.
5. Construction materials and products: towards more consistent technical documentation?
The Agreement also contains Annex II on technical regulations, standards, testing and certification. The official structure of the Agreement identifies this as one of the areas incorporated into the functioning of the internal market. Eur-Lex
For architecture, this issue is less visible than a change to planning rules, but it can be very important in practice.
When an architect specifies a window, insulation product, membrane, structure, finish or construction system, its performance needs to be verified.
That requires technical documentation, testing, performance classes, certification and installation criteria.
The Agreement provides a framework for bringing these systems closer to the functioning of the internal market.
It would be premature to state exactly which additional document an architect will need to provide or which product will change status.
The relevant question is:
will progressive integration into the European framework make the performance and certification of products used in Andorra more consistent and easier to interpret?
This is a technical issue to follow as the annexes are updated and implemented.
6. Architecture competitions and public commissions
Another concrete area concerns public procurement.
The Agreement has a specific annex dealing with this subject. Official AndorraUE information also states that Andorran companies will be able to access tenders in internal-market countries within the framework established by the Agreement. AndorraUE
For architecture, this could particularly affect:
- architectural competitions;
- tenders for architectural services;
- engineering contracts;
- technical assistance to public authorities;
- public works contracts.
For an Andorran practice, this could broaden the framework for entering certain European tenders.
Conversely, it will be necessary to observe how access by European operators to Andorran public competitions develops.
Not every public contract will automatically become a European tendering procedure.
Thresholds, procedures, the subject of the contract and implementing rules will remain important.
The actual effect on architecture will become clearer when these provisions are translated into specific procurement procedures.
7. What does not automatically change: POUPs, development rights and permits
This distinction is fundamental.
The Association Agreement should not be confused with a new Andorran planning system.
The official Agreement covers areas including free movement, services, energy, public procurement, the environment and technical regulations. Eur-Lex
That does not mean the automatic disappearance of:
- each Comú’s POUP;
- land-use classifications;
- development rights;
- maximum building heights;
- setbacks;
- permitted uses;
- building-permit procedures;
- the planning powers of Andorran authorities.
Architects will still need to assess the territorial and communal regulations applicable to each site and each project.
What may happen is that new requirements arising from the areas covered by the Agreement are progressively added to the existing framework.
For example, a project could retain exactly the same development rights while, in the future, being subject to different technical or energy-performance requirements.
Planning rules and technical regulations are not the same thing.
8. For someone planning to build or renovate in Andorra, what changes today?
At present, the answer needs to remain cautious:
the Agreement does not yet automatically change a private architecture project currently under development.
The Andorran Government has expressly stated that the signature planned for 19 October does not in itself make the Agreement applicable in Andorra. Govern d’Andorra
Projects should therefore continue to be designed according to the regulations currently in force.
For an owner or developer, there would be little sense in putting a project on hold while waiting for hypothetical future European rules.
For projects with a medium- or long-term horizon, however, it may be useful to monitor several areas, particularly:
- energy performance;
- renovation;
- technical systems;
- product documentation;
- organisation of professional teams.
The architect’s role will be precisely to distinguish what is already mandatory from what still belongs to future regulatory development.
9. The real questions for architecture in Andorra
Several possible consequences of the new Agreement are often discussed, but they cannot yet be presented as facts.
It is more rigorous to express them as questions:
- will more European architecture practices come to work in Andorra?
- will competition between architects increase?
- will Andorran practices have more opportunities outside the country?
- will international technical teams become more common?
- will the way public architecture competitions operate change?
- will requirements for materials and certification evolve?
- what obligations will emerge for renovation of existing buildings?
- will new energy requirements change how façades, windows and building services are designed?
- how will COAA and Andorran administrative procedures evolve?
The Agreement allows us to identify the areas where change may occur.
It does not yet allow us to measure the scale of that change in the real market.
10. What architects will need to monitor over the coming years
For the sector, political announcements are only the first stage.
The changes that matter most will appear in much more technical documents.
Particular attention will need to be paid to:
- the effective entry into force of the Agreement;
- adaptation periods;
- Andorran legislation required for implementation;
- recognition of professional qualifications;
- conditions for practising architecture;
- new energy provisions;
- the strategy for renovating the existing building stock;
- technical standards and certification procedures;
- adaptation of public procurement;
- changes affecting coordination with engineers and other specialists.
It is at this level that the question which really matters to architects can be answered:
what will need to be drawn, justified, documented or coordinated differently on a project?
An evolution of architecture’s regulatory framework, not an overnight change
The Andorra–EU Agreement could have significant consequences for architecture.
But they are unlikely to appear as a sudden break.
The impact will be progressive and will concern several levels: professionals, project teams, energy performance, renovation, products and public procurement.
At the same time, architecture in Andorra will continue to respond to profoundly local conditions: topography, mountain climate, landscape, existing building stock and the planning rules of each parish.
For Studio Tamy, following this process means bringing these two scales together:
understanding the evolution of the European framework without losing sight of the specific conditions of the Andorran territory.
Frequently asked questions
Is Andorra joining the European Union?
No. The current process concerns an Association Agreement. Andorra will remain a non-EU state.
Will an EU architect automatically be able to practise in Andorra?
This cannot be stated. The Agreement establishes a framework for recognising professional qualifications, but procedures and professional requirements will still be needed.
Will POUPs change because of the Agreement?
The Agreement does not automatically replace POUPs or the planning powers of the Comuns.
Will the Agreement affect building energy performance?
There is a direct link. The energy annex incorporates European rules on building performance and provides for objectives for the building stock and a long-term renovation strategy.
Does a project need to be changed today because of the Agreement?
Not automatically. Projects must comply with the regulations currently in force. Future obligations should be checked once they have actually been adopted and become applicable.