The 5 May update of the industrial strategy was special in that it included an in-depth analysis to help European steel make a success of its green transition. An announcement that greatly satisfied the steel sector and marked a turning point in industrial policy.
Thus, on 6 May, Eurofer, which represents the steel sector at European level, welcomed the analysis attached to the European Commission’s communication (see EUROPE 12713/6). “We are pleased to see that the Commission has accounted for the specific challenges that steel faces, and the incredible potential and ambition we have to decarbonise, if the right incentives for green steel are set”, said Axel Eggert, Director General of Eurofer.
Mr Eggert recalled that the European steel sector currently has around 100 decarbonisation projects underway, which could potentially reduce its emissions by 30% by 2030 (55% compared to 1990). However, in order to fully achieve this objective, the European Commission needs to present a specific action plan for the steel sector, he added.
The return of the steel industry as a strategic sector
A view shared by Dimitri Zurstrassen, a researcher at UCLouvain and the Sorbonne, contacted by EUROPE. He recalled that for the first time in the history of the EU, a communication on steel policy is annexed to the update of the industrial strategy, proof that the European institution is changing its approach to the steel issue.
Indeed, the steel sector had always been the subject of separate communications, the researcher said. The reason: on the one hand, it was considered a “special sector” governed by its own treaty, the Treaty of Paris (1951), which expired in 2002, and, on the other hand, the Commission avoided sectoral policies from the 1980s onwards in order to develop horizontal industrial policies centred on the development of a European regulatory framework that was above all favourable to companies. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)