From November 19 to 21, steel took center stage during an exhibition organized by EUROFER, the European Steel Association, titled “Steel: At the Heart of Europe - Stronger with European Steel,” held at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event served as a platform to emphasize steel's pivotal role in Europe's resilience and prosperity, while addressing the sector's future challenges, including decarbonization, competitiveness, and innovation.
Italy’s Feralpi Group participated with the Feralpi Interactive Hub, a multimedia platform that allowed visitors to explore a modern steelmaking model. This model integrates technological innovation, research and development, and training, to produce steel that is increasingly sustainable and competitive.
Giuseppe Pasini, president of Feralpi Group, attended the event and underscored the necessity for concrete action by the European Union to address the challenges facing the steel industry. "It is crucial that Europe puts manufacturing, including steel, back at the center of its agenda in order to remain competitive and continue generating value for Europe and its citizens," Pasini remarked. He highlighted several key points for the future of the steel sector, starting with the need to treat scrap metal as a strategic and protected raw material within the EU. Exporting it, he argued, undermines the competitiveness of European industries, particularly electric furnace steelmaking, in favor of economies less committed to environmental and social sustainability.
Pasini also emphasized the importance of a robust energy policy to support the competitiveness of steel mills. Establishing a unified energy market with fair pricing across the EU is essential to ensure that the European steel sector does not face disadvantages. "On the trade policy front," Pasini added, "it is vital to protect the market from unfair trade practices by introducing measures after the expiration of safeguard provisions, to prevent a surge in imports."
Sustainability was a central theme of the discussions, particularly with regard to decarbonizing the sector. "We must build a system based on technological diversity: all decarbonization strategies should be considered and implemented without ideological bias, evaluating the most efficient and effective solutions," he asserted. For Feralpi, decarbonization is not just a challenge, but also an opportunity to renew the sector, developing mills that meet the growing demands of a market increasingly focused on sustainability and efficiency, Pasini said.
