EUROFER: EC inaction puts European steel jobs at risk

The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has published a statement to support the industry workers’ demonstration organized by trade union industriAll Europe and taking place tomorrow on February 5, with thousands of workers from across the EU asking for a real Clean Industrial Deal that ensures quality jobs in the EU.

EU steel workers will join workers from other manufacturing industries to call on the European Commission to save the industry and preserve employment by investing in good industrial jobs and the green energy transition, while combating global overcapacity and unfair trade.

“Without immediate action from the European Union, there will be more plant closures and job losses in the steel industry. For every direct job in the steel sector, seven more are created in the EU’s economy: steel is at the core of many other sectors, from automotive, construction and defence to renewable energy systems and aerospace. If steel disappears from Europe, value chains and prosperity will disappear too,” Axel Eggert, director general of EUROFER, said.

The European steel industry expects both the Clean Industrial Deal and the Steel and Metals Action Plan to deliver genuine solutions to longstanding challenges. Critical measures proposed in the industriAll-EUROFER European Steel Action Plan are: assertive enforcement of the EU trade defence instruments, and a more robust tariffication regime to stop the spill-over impact of global steel excess capacity; a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that works in practice, preventing circumvention or resource shuffling and preserving EU steel exports; renewable and low-carbon electricity; retaining steel scrap in Europe for the circular economy, decarbonization and energy security. “The initiatives to be put forward by the Commission over the next weeks will determine the life expectancy of the European steel industry, and, with it, European manufacturing, Europe’s competitiveness, and Europe’s security,” Mr. Eggert concluded.

steelorbis.com

Green Deal has completely destroyed European industry, says Sztuczkowski

The EU’s impending measures to boost industry competitiveness have come too late after years of policy tantamount to “euthanasia of the entire industry”, says Przemyslaw Sztuczkowski, chief executive of Polish steelmaker Cognor.

The European Commission presented its Competitiveness Compass initiative last week, which includes a steel action plan and the Clean Industrial Deal, due to be published on 26 February.

Speaking at EEC Trends in Warsaw on Monday, Sztuczkowski said: “Let’s say it honestly. The Green Deal has completely destroyed European industry … As the steel industry, we are 100% behind the Green Deal … but the way it’s been implemented … will lead to a catastrophe in Europe’s industry.”

Poland has the most expensive electricity in the world. Industrial consumers pay six times higher than in the US, Sztuczkowski went on. And yet, the EU allows imports of steel from around the world. “I have absolutely no chance of survival in the European market,” the ceo exclaimed at the event monitored by Kallanish.

EU policymakers are now saying the EU should return to the climate policy of before the Green Deal in 2019, which is “far, far too late”, he continued. “If we don’t put a tariff on everything like [US President Donald] Trump is doing, then we will simply not survive.”

Cognor knows its prospective Siemianowice Slaskie-based merchant bar mill, despite being state-of-the-art technology, will not be competitive unless drastic policy changes are made, Sztuczkowski lamented.

Boryszew automotive segment director Adam Holewa meanwhile said the EU push towards electric vehicle (EV) production has slowed as consumers are apprehensive about the cost of EVs as well as insufficient charging infrastructure. The EU lacks a unified strategy to support the sector, he added.

On a positive note, Polish construction is set for a rebound in 2025 thanks to EU-funded projects, which the country’s contractors should have no problem in executing; however, bankruptcies and labour shortages are a concern.

The capability of Polish construction contractors to take on the anticipated boom in projects is much greater than in 2012 when multiple projects linked to the European Football Championship held in Poland that year experienced problems, Artur Popko, chief executive of Polish construction giant Budimex, said at the event.

The firm’s infrastructure operations director, Cezary Lysenko, however, pointed out that various contractors have gone bankrupt in recent years and “unfortunately, we will need to rebuild this capability”. There is a notable drop in interest in young people training as engineers, indicating there will be a problem finding adequate workers, he added.

There are also doubts over where contractors will find qualified labour to carry out the spate of small modular reactor (SMR) projects touted to take place in Poland to bolster its energy security, as the country hitherto has no nuclear construction capability, Popko added.

Adam Smith Poland

kallanish.com