Brussels, 27 February 2025 – The European Steel Association (EUROFER) welcomes the joint initiative of French Minister for Industry and Energy Marc Ferracci and Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso to convene a Ministerial Conference on the Future of the European Steel Industry in Paris today. This meeting complements initiatives at EU level by facilitating a pan-European assessment of the plight of the European steel sector and providing an additional opportunity to outline necessary solutions that will feed into the Steel Action Plan.

"We are grateful to the French and Italian governments for organising this ministerial conference as our European steel industry faces unparallelled challenges. Just one day after the presentation of the Clean Industrial Deal by the European Commission and a few days ahead of the Strategic Dialogue on Steel, their initiative should provide clear political guidance for impactful, structural solutions at both European and national levels”, said Axel Eggert, Director General of the European Steel Association (EUROFER), speaking at the Conference.

“We call on all EU Member States to support this initiative addressing the most pressing issues we face with decisive measures to tackle unfair trade practices, loopholes in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and unbearably high energy prices. This is key to provide a lifeline to the steel sector and ensure its successful decarbonisation as well as a just transition for our workforce”, added Mr. Eggert.

EUROFER has consistently advocated for immediate and robust action in four priority areas:

• Trade: Tighten the current safeguard measures to align them with today’s market reality, develop a more robust and comprehensive tariffication regime to stop the spill-over effects of global steel overcapacity before the safeguards expire in June 2026, and ensure the assertive and effective enforcement of EU trade defence instruments.

• CBAM: Ensure a watertight Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism that prevents circumvention, resource shuffling and carbon leakage, while preserving the competitiveness of EU steel exports and discouraging the relocation of manufacturing value chains outside the EU.

• Energy: Deliver affordable clean energy by passing the benefits of renewable and low-carbon electricity to consumers and ensuring industry’s competitiveness.

• Ferrous scrap: Retain this valuable yet scarce resource in Europe to support circular economy targets, industrial decarbonisation, strategic autonomy and energy security.

“Across Europe, we are witnessing steel plant closures, job losses, and the suspension of decarbonisation projects, at a time when Europe’s geopolitical and economic sovereignty is more important than ever. It is in Europe’s interest to reverse this trend and instead inspire confidence among European steel companies. We expect the conclusions of this meeting - supported by Member States and combined with the other initiatives of the EU institutions - to be taken on board and make a positive contribution to the Strategic Dialogue on Steel and to the Steel Action Plan”, 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, Ukraine 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 €191 billion and directly employs around 303,000 highly-skilled people, producing on average 140 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.