Feralpi Group hosted the member of the European Parliament Benedetta Scuderi at its headquarters in Lonato del Garda for a meeting focused on the future of the Italian and European electric steelmaking sector, with particular attention to the challenges linked to decarbonization, global competitiveness, and the resilience of European manufacturing.
The meeting, attended by Giuseppe Pasini, president of Feralpi Group and Confindustria Lombardia, and Roberto De Miranda, board member of Federacciai, focused on the need to combine the EU’s climate targets with the ecological and energy transition of a strategic sector such as steel. The issues discussed included high energy costs, the shortage of ferrous scrap, and the use of EU tools to support industry, including the Industrial Accelerator Act, the Innovation Fund, and the European Competitiveness Fund.
Scuderi, a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, underlined the need to translate dialogue with industry players into concrete work on EU legislation. According to the MEP, Italian and European industry requires an urgent change of perspective, based on energy security, more competitive energy prices, the development of renewables, the creation of a genuine single energy market, and greater public investment in infrastructure and networks.
Pasini recalled that Feralpi integrates its ESG strategy into its industrial growth plan, pursuing the energy and ecological transition through investments in cleantech innovation, with the aim of further decarbonizing its production processes and consolidating a model based on the circular economy. As SteelOrbis previously reported, in 2024 the group allocated more than 80 percent of its €223 million technical investment plan to ESG-related projects, confirming the central role of sustainability in its industrial strategy. However, Pasini pointed out that the efforts of individual companies are not enough in a context in which the European electric steelmaking sector continues to face high energy costs, a growing shortage of ferrous scrap, and the need for new skills.
Also speaking as president of Confindustria Lombardia, Pasini highlighted the decisive role of the European Union in supporting manufacturing and energy-intensive sectors, stressing the need to move beyond a mainly regulatory approach. “Europe is playing a decisive game for its own future: it has a duty to move from a logic of pure regulation to one of real and strategic support for manufacturing,” Pasini stated, underlining the importance of rapidly directing EU funds toward the protection of value chains and the strengthening of European industrial autonomy.
The meeting confirmed the central role of the electric steelmaking sector in the European debate on industrial policy, at a time when decarbonization, energy security, access to raw materials, and EU financial instruments remain key factors for the competitiveness of the steel supply chain.