Picture Copyright: European Union, 2024 Source: EC - Audiovisual Service

Brussels, 18 July 2024 – The re-election of Ursula von der Leyen as President of the European Commission paves the way for the continuation of the ambitious initiatives started in her first term. For a stronger and prosperous Europe, defining a pragmatic set of measures within the first 100 days of the new Commission mandate is the right step forward to ensure the success of the EU’s industry transition, if properly implemented. The European Steel Association urges that the Clean Industrial Deal be complemented as a priority by a European Steel Pact, as proposed by the German delegation to the European People’s Party (EPP).

“The European steel industry congratulates Commission President von der Leyen on her re-election and welcomes her commitment to securing a viable, clean steel sector in Europe. We fully support President von der Leyen’s view that ‘our first priority will be prosperity and competitiveness’ as ‘those who are not competitive will be dependent’. The focus on implementing ‘a new Clean Industrial Deal’ that ‘will channel investment in infrastructure and industry, in particular for energy-intensive sectors’ and ‘help create lead markets in everything from clean steel to clean tech’ is crucial for achieving the EU’s climate targets. The initiative for a European Steel Pact, recently proposed by MEPs Christian Ehler and Dennis Radtke, aligns with this vision and should be part of the Clean Industrial Deal”, said Axel Eggert, Director General of the European Steel Association (EUROFER).

After several years of neglecting the industry, the key issues the new Commission now needs to address to ensure the successful transformation of the European steel sector and the EU’s leadership in clean technologies include:

·       Overcapacity and unfair trade practices: overhaul EU trade policy to adjust to the changed global reality by introducing a system that stops the trade spill-over of excessive production from countries with overcapacity, and by adjusting Trade Defense Instruments (TDIs) to stop unfair trade practices and circumvention.

·       Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): make the CBAM waterproof and avoid free-riding by setting high default values, propose a solution for maintaining EU steel exports, stop source shuffling, and extend the scope to more downstream products.

·       Energy: urgently ensure industry’s access to internationally competitive clean energy to foster its decarbonisation, including via immediate support measures.

·       Green lead markets: support the transition with demand-side measures for green products “Made in the EU” via public procurement.

·       Raw Materials: initiate measures to retain metal scrap within Europe to ensure the EU’s sustainability, circularity and competitiveness.

·       Finance: better use existing resources to support the industrial transition via an efficient finance and public funding chapter at EU level, for example, by dedicating sufficient ETS revenues to the decarbonisation of the sectors covered by the system.

“We wish President von der Leyen a successful second mandate and look forward to close collaboration with her for a stronger and prosperous Europe with clean steel at its core. Just as the European Coal and Steel Community brought peace and made the European dream a reality over 70 years ago, today the implementation of a European Steel Pact within a Clean Industrial Deal - if fully realised - will once again deliver on its promise of prosperity and global leadership. Europe can only be stronger with European steel”, concluded Mr. Eggert.

Notes for editors

Contact
Lucia Sali, Spokesperson and Head of Communications, +32 2 738 79 35, (l.sali@eurofer.eu)

About the European Steel Association (EUROFER)
EUROFER AISBL is located in Brussels and was founded in 1976. It represents the entirety of steel production in the European Union. EUROFER members are steel companies and national steel federations throughout the EU. The major steel companies and national steel federation of Turkey and the United Kingdom are associate members.

The European Steel Association is recorded in the EU transparency register: 93038071152-83.

About the European steel industry
The European steel industry is a world leader in innovation and environmental sustainability. It has a turnover of around €130 billion and directly employs around 306,000 highly-skilled people, producing on average 152 million tonnes of steel per year. More than 500 steel production sites across 22 EU Member States provide direct and indirect employment to millions more European citizens. Closely integrated with Europe’s manufacturing and construction industries, steel is the backbone for development, growth and employment in Europe.

Steel is the most versatile industrial material in the world. The thousands of different grades and types of steel developed by the industry make the modern world possible. Steel is 100% recyclable and therefore is a fundamental part of the circular economy. As a basic engineering material, steel is also an essential factor in the development and deployment of innovative, CO2-mitigating technologies, improving resource efficiency and fostering sustainable development in Europe.