The European Parliament has urged the European Commission (EC) to provide state aid for the European steel industry regarding threatened plants and to deliver its promised action plan to help the industry as soon as possible, indicating that EU steel industry jobs have fallen from 1 million in 1970 to 369,000 in 2012.
According to the parliament's resolution, the European Commission should ensure that restructuring or relocation of steel plants is carried out in strict compliance with EU competition law and should monitor potential abuses of dominant market positions.
The parliament stated that the action plan scheduled to be delivered by June 2013 should include all available tools, such as increased research, development and innovation, targeted investments by the European Investment Bank, a skills policy, and EU financial instruments. The parliament also requested the surveillance system for imports of steel products and steel pipes to be extended beyond December 31, 2012.
The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has welcomed the parliament's resolution. EUROFER director Gordon Moffat stressed that EU climate targets also need to be discussed if the global competitiveness of the European steel industry is to be maintained. "Climate targets not based on technological possibilities and imposed via an isolated EU Emissions Trading Scheme also are a factor that will force the relocation of the industry," Moffat added.