EUROMETAL joins European Commission’s Strategic Dialogue on Steel
The European steel sector took center stage as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen launched the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of the Steel Sector. The high-level meeting gathered key industry leaders, social partners, and stakeholders, including EUROMETAL President Alexander Julius, to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the European steel supply chain.
A critical moment for European Steel
President von der Leyen opened the dialogue by emphasizing the historic and strategic importance of steel to the European Union, stating:
“Our European Union was built on a community of coal and steel. Steel is everywhere, from wind power to defence. But European steelmakers are at a crossroads, facing the challenges of necessary decarbonisation and partly unfair global competition. Today’s Dialogue is to lead to a tailored plan to help this sector decarbonise and thrive globally. We join forces to make a strong business case for steel made in Europe.”
The dialogue acknowledged that while steel production remains a cornerstone of European industry, the sector is under significant pressure due to high energy costs, global overcapacity, and declining product prices. These challenges have impacted investment in clean steel technologies, which are essential for the sector’s decarbonisation efforts.
Key outcomes of the Steel Dialogue
This first session laid the groundwork for future policy actions, reinforcing the importance of collaboration between industry and policymakers. Discussions were closely aligned with the Clean Industrial Deal, adopted in February, which aims to: lower energy costs for energy-intensive industries, create lead markets for low-carbon steel and accelerate investments through financial support exceeding €100 billion for clean manufacturing in the EU.
The dialogue will contribute to the development of a Steel and Metals Action Plan, which will outline sector-specific priority actions and long-term measures to replace current trade defence safeguard measures expiring in June 2026. The plan will focus on ensuring clean steel production is commercially viable, developing a strong response to unfair trading practices and identifying sustainable long-term solutions to safeguard the European steel market.
EUROMETAL’s Role and Key Priorities
As the representative body for European steel distributors, traders, and service centers, EUROMETAL played a pivotal role in ensuring that the concerns of steel distribution and processing were heard. EUROMETAL President Alexander M. Julius participated in the discussions, advocating for:
- A level playing field for steel users and manufacturers.
- Inclusion of finished and semi-finished products under protective trade measures.
- Stronger support for EU steel distribution, processing, and manufacturing to drive innovation and ensure sustainable industrial activities.
- A more inclusive approach in the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to facilitate compliance and secure fair competition.
The road to the Steel and Metals Action Plan
Following this Strategic Dialogue, Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné has been tasked with presenting the Action Plan on Steel and Metals on 19 March 2025. This plan will define the next steps for policymakers and industry stakeholders, with regular involvement from the European Parliament and the Council.
EUROMETAL remains committed to actively engaging in this process to ensure that the voice of steel distributors, traders, and service centers is represented in shaping the future of European steel.
The Strategic Dialogue gathered top industry stakeholders, including: EUROMETAL, EUROFER, ESPA, EURIC, Euromines, FIEC, Agora Industry, WindEurope, ACEA, ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel Europe, ThyssenKrupp Steel Europe, Salzgitter, Riva-Stahl, Outokumpu, Celsa Group, Feralpi, Stegra, Zeliziarne Podbrezova, IndustriAll and GravitHy.
EUROMETAL President’s reactions after Steel Dialogue
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hosted today the Strategic Dialogue on Steel, bringing together key industry leaders to address the future of Europe’s steel sector. EUROMETAL President Alexander M. Julius participated in the discussions, ensuring the voice of steel distributors and service centers was heard on critical industry challenges.
EUROMETAL emphasized that fair competition remains crucial for the steelmaking sector. However, considering the 7.4 million people employed in the manufacturing of steel and metal-based products in the EU, it is equally important to create a level playing field for this sector. This can be achieved by extending protective measures to semi-finished and finished products, which currently enter the EU without any barriers. Given Europe’s position between the USA and China, supporting EU distribution, processing, and manufacturing is even more essential to foster innovation and establish a foundation for sustainable industrial activities.
In a subsequent discussion with European Commissioners, EUROMETAL also reiterated its desire to actively participate in a CBAM working group. This initiative would help the European Commission ensure that regulations are feasible for EU declarants, thereby maintaining a reliable service for the EU steel-using industry.
European Commission schedules Steel Dialogue, reinforces strategic role
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will host a Strategic Dialogue on Steel on 4 March, Kallanish notes.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Commission reinforced that steel is a strategic sector, saying it plays a central role in the EU’s broader strategic autonomy.
The meeting is anticipated to bring together steel manufacturers, raw material suppliers, off-takers, and representatives of social partners and civil society. EUROMETAL will be represented by its president, Alexander Julius, the association says.
This comes ahead of the dedicated Steel and Metals Action, which Executive Vice-President Séjourné has been tasked with delivering in the spring. Feedback from the Steel Dialogue and related wider consultation will be fed into this dedicated plan.
“The steel industry is a key sector of our European single market. At the same time this industry is of utmost importance in our fight against climate change,” von der Leyen notes. “The Strategic Dialogue will help develop a concrete Action Plan to tackle the unique challenges of this sector in the clean industrial transition. We want to ensure that the European steel industry is both competitive and sustainable in the long-term.”
“Europe has a plan for its industry: we must produce more, we must produce clean, and we must produce European,” says Séjourné. “This starts with our most strategic sectors: steel is one of them. We must protect our steel sector from unfair foreign competition and boost our own production of clean European steel.”
Key Strategic Dialogue discussion points will include how to enhance competitiveness and circularity, drive the clean transition, decarbonisation, and electrification, ensure fair trade relations and an international level playing field. The Commission will inform and consult with the Council and European Parliament throughout the Dialogue process.
Proposals include the joint purchasing of raw materials on behalf of interested companies, which could ensure diversification of supplies, and a Circular Economy Act to incentivise the use of secondary scrap material in manufacturing. Also discussed will be the use of guarantees and risk reduction instruments to facilitate conclusion of long-term power purchase agreements, and to accelerate the uptake of hydrogen.
To speed up investment, the meeting will also discuss the creation of a dedicated financing mechanism for industrial decarbonisation based on the auctions-as-a-service model.
On the foreign trade front, global overcapacity is expected to reach 630 million tonnes in 2026. This means “it is essential to make more efficient use of anti-dumping or anti-subsidy duties to prevent that our market becomes an export destination for state-induced excess steel production,” the Commission says.
In addition, the safeguard measures for steel currently in place are set to expire by June 2026. The Commission will define a long-term solution to replace those measures in light of global non-market overcapacity, it concludes.
Adam Smith Poland
