Today and tomorrow European Union industry ministers will kick off a political debate on EU industrial competitiveness in the run-up to the March 2014 European Council, Eurofer said yesterday. “This spring in Brussels is a unique opportunity to safeguard the global competitiveness of Europe’s trade and energy intensive industries such as steel,” the steel lobby said.

　　“The starting point, though, is bumpy. The Commission has set new ambitious unilateral climate targets for Europe up to 2030 while details are missing. No industry can be expected to make investment decisions on this basis ... We need a clear decision that at least the most efficient European companies do not have additional costs from the EU’s climate and energy policies”, Eurofer director general Gordon Moffat stated.

　　As already underscored many times by Eurofer the proposed EU ETS target of 43% CO2 emission reduction by 2030 compared to 2005 – a 60% reduction for the steel industry compared to 1990 – is technically and economically impossible to achieve with current technologies and therefore will cause a cost disadvantage against non-European competitors.

　　“Without rebalancing the EU’s industrial, climate and energy policies our sector… will further decline and with it industrial manufacturing and jobs in Europe,” Eurpofer said. “EU regulatory costs represent a share of over 30% of the EBITDA of the EU’s steel industry in recent years, costs which our global competitors do not have to bear. This trend must be stopped now.”