With the EU elections having taken place in May 2019, Europe is setting new priories and direction for the future. As an industry at the heart of the EU economy, the European steel industry is saying to policy makers: we need to innovate, trade, sustain and upskill to ensure a prosperous future for Europe and its citizens.
In the light of slowing demand, both generally and specifically for steel, persistently high global overcapacity of 550 million tonnes – 25% of global production capacity – high and volatile raw material and carbon prices, and surging imports, the European steel industry is facing potential crisis.
This manifesto sets out the footprint and importance of European steel to the EU economy, and explains why we need to make the industry more innovative, skilled and sustainable while also ensuring there is a robust trade policy that defends the sector against the challenges posed by overcapacity and trade surges.
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Brussels, 22 October 2024 – The steel crisis will be at the centre of the European Parliament (EP) Plenary sitting tomorrow morning in Strasbourg. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) will debate how to tackle the dire situation facing the European steel industry and its workers, caused by global steel overcapacity, unfair trade, low demand in the manufacturing industry and high energy prices in the EU. This public discussion raises high expectations for a fit-for-purpose EU Steel Action Plan to be implemented swiftly to save the sector as the basis for EU manufacturing, underscores the European Steel Association.
Open Letter to the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the European Union
Brussels, 08 October 2024 – The latest data disclosed by the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC), revealing a further increase in global overcapacity, require immediate, comprehensive trade actions by GFSEC like-minded countries. The impact of this destructive dynamic, distorting the global steel market and threatening thousands of jobs across Europe alone, needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency, says the European Steel Association.