Steel: EU Parliament: no more time to waste in addressing the crisis

Brussels – The European steel industry is suffering like never before, experiencing a crisis that demands a reflection on a sector — steel — that aims to return to the center of the European political agenda. It is a priority for the House of the European Parliament that vocally calls for specific interventions from the incoming von der Leyen Commission. With their respective distinctions, the major political groups agree not to waste more time.

The figures alone give an idea of the suffering of an industry that is also the antechamber of economic, production, and growth difficulties for the entire Union. We have gone from a production surplus of 17 million tons of steel to a deficit of 10 million tons. There is certainly a competition problem that is engulfing and wiping out European industry. A definite Asian pressure. “In the last 20 years, China has increased its production by 639 percent.” The result is that the country “will have five times the European capacity,” Juan Ignacio Zoido Alvarez of the EPP denounced.

What is already happening is a reality in which “Europe is subject to global overcapacity,” leading to the  “loss of 100,000 jobs,” the liberal Christophe Grudler (Renew) said, calling for swift and targeted interventions, such as “the timely implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM),” the instrument that aims to tax what is being produced with high CO2 and climate-altering gas emissions; essentially, an anti-China tool.

However, the request may not be enough to meet the needs of the steel world and its European producers. To the point that someone calls for the exclusion of the sector from the ETS system for the buying and selling of emission certificates. The demand first came from the Conservative benches through Daniel Obajtek and then from the ranks of the Populars through Letizia Moratti. The ECR-EPP convergence again shows the alignment between center-right and right progressive forces in the House criticized and frowned on so much.

However, the Socialists (S&D) are reviving the demands of Renew, the EPP, and the ECR, with members repeatedly insisting on the need for a European steel plan. Estelle Ceulemans, Jens Geier, Giorgio Gori, and Elena Sanchez Murillo are raising their voice to ask for this in unison. MEPs from Germany, Italy, and Spain, one after one, repeat the same point, which is in the interest of the sectors of their respective countries and represents the major economies of the eurozone. It is up to the European Commission to prepare a specific action plan for the sector.

The European Greens match the call of the Socialists asking for a “European steel summit with the social partners,” said the Greens’ co-chair, Terry Reitke, who is determined to have an industry that is competitive, green, and capable of guaranteeing “EU-made steel production.”

The real crux remains that of resources: many will be needed to enable European steel-making to be future-proof and thus sustainable and competitive. These resources are difficult to find. Hence, Liberal Brigitte van der Berg calls for “budgetary choices” to free up and allocate the necessary funds while “not signing blank checks” for the European steel sector. In these budgetary discussions, she suggests “revisiting the Just Transition Fund to make sure that no region is left behind” or penalized.

Helena Dalli, Equality Commissioner speaking on behalf of the EU executive, reassures parliamentarians, especially the sector’s business community, by saying: “Decarbonization does not mean de-industrialization.” She assures that the Commission intends to “reverse” the downward trend of industrial steel and will work to make it a major player again in line with the von der Leyen agenda: “A strong, green steel industry is crucial for European industry.”

Businesses, which had been loudly calling for a renewed focus on the steel crisis, can be satisfied. The attention is there, as is the awareness of the delicate moment and the intention to take action to end the problem of an industry in crisis. However, the speed of response and resources remain critical issues — and not marginal ones — the second von der Leyen Commission will have to work on.

Nevertheless, industry players expressed their satisfaction. “This timely debate called by MEPs is essential for raising broader awareness of the existential challenges we are confronting and for proposing effective, comprehensive solutions to implement swiftly within an EU Steel Action Plan,” said Axel Eggert, Director General of the European Steel Association (EUROFER). “There is no time to lose: global excess capacity is wiping out sustainable steel production in the EU along with the quality jobs that support all our manufacturing value chains.”