The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has issued an open letter published on May 29 in which 76 European steel company CEOs, including the CEOs of ArcelorMittal Europe, Tata Steel Europe, ThyssenKrupp, Salzgitter and Voestalpine, have called on EU leaders to help preserve a sustainable and globally competitive European steel industry, stating that in Europe they must be able to produce the innovative steels that underpin modern society and that help reduce CO2 emissions. The call comes ahead of the final negotiations on the reform of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). In the letter, the CEOs call on EU policy-makers, when shaping the Emissions Trading System, to avoid burdening the sector with high costs that will constrict investment, or that will increase the risk of job losses and plant closures in the EU.
Meanwhile, speaking after the signing of the joint letter EUROFER director general Axel Eggert stated that the European steel industry is one of the most innovative in the world and its CO2 mitigation technologies are world beating. However, the EU has a large, open economy, meaning that, if the post-2020 reform of the EU’s Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) creates costs for even Europe’s best performing steel plants, the industry will find itself uncompetitive in the fierce global marketplace for steel, Mr. Eggert added.