Spanish steel association Unesid has urged the European Union to take unified action to secure competitive energy prices, strengthen trade control instruments, and introduce new financing options to ensure the steel sector’s viability.
The association was part of the Ministerial Conference on Steel, organised on Thursday by French industry and energy minister Marc Ferraci and his Italian counterpart, Adolfo Urso, to discuss the future of Europe’s steel industry, Kallanish notes. The Paris meeting received support from Poland, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Greece, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Belgium, and the European Commission.
During the meeting, Unesid president Bernardo Velázquez emphasised the need for a coordinated European response to safeguard the sustainability and competitiveness of the steel sector amid global challenges.
“To ensure the sector’s viability, European governments must work together to establish a commercial and regulatory framework that allows the steel industry to compete on equal terms in the global market,” Velázquez said.
Unesid highlighted key priorities, including accelerating anti-dumping proceedings by allocating more resources to the European Commission. It also stressed the importance of greater control of imports, saying the origin of steel products should be determined based on the “melt and pour” system, which guarantees reliable traceability and avoids the circumvention of trade measures.
Unesid confirmed its support for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), while calling for a compensation mechanism to help European steel exporters offset additional costs from CBAM and the Emissions Trading System (ETS).
The association also stressed the importance of strictly monitoring CBAM to ensure that imported steel meets EU standards, preventing unfair competition and trade circumvention.
Todor Kirkov Bulgaria
