Steel, European alliance to protect the sector

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The territories of the European steel industry are forming an alliance to ask the EU for strong and incisive measures to protect the sector. Representatives from Lombardy, Grand Est (France), Brandenburg and Saarland (Germany), the Basque Country (Spain) and Flanders (Belgium) met in Strasbourg for a "fruitful and frank" confrontation with the European Commission and in particular with the structure that deals with industry and entrepreneurship. The requests of the steel regions concern actions to reduce energy costs for electro-intensive industries, to improve Europe's protection from global overcapacity and to make the functioning of the 'Border Carbon Adjustment Mechanism', i.e. the regulation by which the Commission regulates trade with non-EU countries, more efficient.

The Strasbourg summit follows the joint letter sent in recent weeks to the European Commission by the governor of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, and the presidents of eight steel regions, in which they sound the alarm over 'a model that is losing its reference points, weakened by persistent distortions of competition and unfair international pressures. In this context, the promises of an ecological transition cannot be kept without a solid industrial base and without concrete prospects for the men and women who run our companies', as indicated in the document signed by Lombardy, Hauts-de-France and Grand Est (France), Baden Wurttemberg, Brandenburg and Saarland (Germany) Wallonia and Flanders (Belgium).

For the Lombardy Region, Guido Guidesi, councillor for economic development, spoke, emphasising the need to act in a coordinated and timely manner to avert an irreversible decline made up of company closures and job losses: 'The iron and steel industry is a basic and strategic sector for the continent's most important production regions, with Lombardy at the forefront. Europe cannot afford to lose a heritage of employment, industry and skills that represents the very essence of the manufacturing cycle'. At the table, Guidesi reiterated that 'the steel industry must remain central to Europe's industrial development policies. The 'European Steel and Metals Action Plan' presented at the beginning of the year by the European Commission must be implemented and substantiated with tangible initiatives, before it is too late. Adequate and effective continental governance is needed, which avoids underestimations and mistakes'. According to Guidesi, 'it is fundamental to accompany investments in technology, innovation and sustainability. Without chasing useless and harmful ideological approaches. Action is urgently needed on the energy cost front, on import limits, on the inclusion of scrap as a raw material, and on the ETS system,' concluding with an invitation to the EU to listen to the territories: 'A unity of intentions emerged from the summit among regions that are driving the continent's economy, and the European executive must take this into account.