diff --git a/emper/meson.build b/emper/meson.build
index ec79201a227800ebff0466ccb5f8e6e9dbbf9b58..eeee83e0fcdc45d4072b09519c49684b85ddba25 100644
--- a/emper/meson.build
+++ b/emper/meson.build
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ emper_cpp_sources = [
 
 emper_generated_files = []
 
+emper_include = []
 subdir('include')
 
 emper_library_include = []