As every year, the publication of the EUROFER Annual Report is an opportunity to recap the policy work conducted by the association throughout 2022, as well as to inspect the forthcoming priority work areas EUROFER will be facing in the next months.They will be crucial to ensure that the future of green steel is and will be in Europe, which is the essential condition for the EU to achieve global leadership in net zero and secure its strategic autonomy.
EU legislation such as the Gas & Hydrogen Package, the revision of the Electricity Market Design directive, the Hydrogen Bank and the Renewable Energy directive, is fundamental to set the right conditions for a truly EU energy market system that delivers. Maximum priority must be given as well to European projects for hydrogen infrastructure, whose development is lagging behind.
Similarly, ensuring access to critical materials for the green transition such as ferrous scrap and nickel is vital, even more so in a world where over 40 countries are already applying restrictions to exports. The Critical Raw Materials Act and the Waste Shipment regulation should take this
situation fully into account.
Facilitating investment in clean technologies, creating lead markets for green steel and promoting upskilling and adequate training opportunities for young steelmakers is also indispensable.
Be assured that, also this year, we will do our best to turn these challenges into opportunities for both the European steel industry and the EU. A strong and sustainable steel sector is the backbone of a healthy EU economy and its leadership in clean tech.
We trust that the reading of the EUROFER Annual Report 2023 will serve as a valuable resource for all those who are interested in the future of our industry and the role that it plays in the European economy.
The full report is available below.
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Brussels, 27 November 2024 – The European steel industry is at a critical juncture, facing irreversible decline unless the EU and Member States take immediate action to secure its future and green transition. Despite repeated warnings from the sector, the EU leadership and governments have yet to implement decisive measures to preserve manufacturing and allow green investments across Europe. Recent massive production cuts and closure announcements by European steelmakers show that time has run out. A robust European Steel Action Plan under an EU Clean Industrial Deal cannot wait or manufacturing value chains across Europe will simply vanish, warns the European Steel Association.
Brussels, 12 November 2024 - Ahead of Commissioner-Designate Séjourné’s hearing in the European Parliament, European steel social partners, supported by cross-party MEPs, jointly call for an EU Steel Action Plan to restore steel’s competitiveness, and save its green transition as well as steelworkers’ jobs across Europe.
Brussels, 29 October 2024 – The European steel market faces an increasingly challenging outlook, driven by a combination of low steel demand, a downturn in steel-using sectors, and persistently high import shares. These factors, combined with a weak overall economic forecast, rising geopolitical tensions, and higher energy costs for the EU compared to other major economic regions, are further deepening the downward trend observed in recent quarters. According to EUROFER’s latest Economic and Steel Market Outlook, apparent steel consumption will not recover in 2024 as previously projected (+1.4%) but is instead expected to experience another recession (-1.8%), although milder than in 2023 (-6%). Similarly, the outlook for steel-using sectors’ output has worsened for 2024 (-2.7%, down from -1.6%). Recovery projections for 2025 are also more modest for both apparent consumption (+3.8%) and steel-using sectors’ output (+1.6%). Steel imports share rose to 28% in the second quarter of 2024.
The European Steel Association (EUROFER)
172 Avenue de Cortenbergh
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +32 (0) 2 738 79 20
