The growing amount of regulation and bureaucracy brings value and protection for the European steel sector, panellists said during the Kallanish Europe Steel Markets conference in Vienna on Tuesday.
Jaap Jan Aardenburg, head of trade affairs at Tata Steel Nederland, told delegates that bureaucracy can be of value to the sector by creating a level playing field. He added the European Commission is now thinking about the consequences of its policies, an improvement on past decision-making.
Wolfgang Mitterdorfer, member of the management board at voestalpine Steel Division, agreed that European bureaucracy is “better than it used to be” and was broadly optimistic about the opportunities ahead.
However, he added: “What we desperately need is predictability,” in relation to the ETS regime. He highlighted his company’s transformation was conceived five-to-six years ago but now the system is changing, and being reviewed again.
While Mitterdorfer noted there has been a psychological impact on the market from the upcoming safeguard changes and CBAM, the full effect has not yet been seen due to customers’ having stockpiled material.
Miroslaw Motyka, Polish Steel Association president, told delegates that more CBAM and regulation was needed, and called for additional products and sectors to be added to CBAM and trade measures, to protect downstream industries.
Judith Neyer, head of energy policy and strategy at Austria’s economy and energy ministry, saw the steel industry “at a crossroads” in 2026. She acknowledged recent calls for the relaxation of the ETS timeline but added that Austria has asked for more time because the scheme is working as intended, but the global landscape has changed.
Neyer agreed that “something has changed” with the European approach to policy. “I think the EU is trying something new, in terms of looking at whole industrial sectors and not just policy fields.”
The ETS scheme and CBAM are only starting to work together as a team, to drive the steel industry, while without a strong carbon signal there will be no hydrogen ramp-up or infrastructure in Europe, and no electrification, she warned. The carbon signal is critical for investors, she added.
“I think ETS is already driving decarbonisation strategies around the world and that is starting to reflect what the EU can trigger,” Neyer said.
However, Motyka warned about the balance of decarbonisation versus deindustrialisation.
“We have to find out what CO2 reductions were achieved through deindustrialisation from lower output, and the shutdown of plants, and which were really achieved through investment and real transformation,” he asserted.
Motyka also highlighted the ongoing geopolitical tensions, which are “a new creature we have to cope with”. Mitterdorfer agreed and noted the “very fragile” global conditions in relation to energy costs, tariffs, and logistic problems. “The challenge is that many [of the] challenges are new,” he added.
Robust protection was seen as key for maintaining competition in the sector. “We are not afraid of fair competition; what we are afraid of and are protecting against is unfair competition,” Motyka said.
“We need to get our act together, and create a strong and resilient full manufacturing [base] and protect the supply chain against unfair competition; then we can create a competitive edge,” Aardenburg concluded.
