9 March 2026 – The conflict between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other is continuing to push aluminium prices higher, bringing them close to the record levels reached in 2022. Meanwhile, a Member of the European Parliament has filed a lawsuit against the Commission over allegedly empty responses, and the German state of Saarland is calling for steel quotas in the EU Industrial Accelerator Act-while ignoring the consequences for SMEs.
Aluminium Prices Approach All-Time High
The conflict involving the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other continues to drive aluminium prices upward. On Monday, the metal traded at more than USD 3,420 per tonne, only slightly below the all-time high recorded in March 2022.
US aluminium premiums had already jumped to a new record high of around USD 1.08 per pound on Friday.
The reason: two major aluminium producers in the Gulf region have suspended deliveries due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and ongoing military hostilities.
The United States in particular is affected. The country lacks sufficient domestic production capacity and is therefore heavily dependent on imports.
MEP Sues Commission Over Empty Responses
German Member of the European Parliament Fabio De Masi has filed a lawsuit before the General Court of the European Union challenging the Commission’s response practices.
The case was triggered by a written parliamentary question regarding contacts between Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and defence companies since the European elections in June 2024.
The Commission’s response took seven months – instead of six weeks
Instead of arriving within the required six weeks, the response was delivered only after seven months – and failed to address several key issues. For example, von der Leyen’s participation in the Munich Security Conference in February 2025 went unmentioned, even though the event is significantly financed by defence companies.
Beyond the individual case, De Masi aims to clarify a broader legal question: whether an individual Member of the European Parliament can enforce their right to information against the Commission, or whether that right belongs only to the Parliament as a whole.
Position on the Iran Conflict was not Coordinated with EU Member States?
At the same time, von der Leyen is facing pressure beyond internal institutional disputes. Her position on the Iran conflict was reportedly not coordinated with EU member states, and several diplomats have criticised what they described as a unilateral foreign policy move. The ongoing tensions with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas are further complicating the situation.
Saarland Calls for Steel Quotas – Ignoring the Consequences
In the German federal state of Saarland, the lines between regional government and the steel industry sometimes appear almost indistinguishable.
Economics Minister Jürgen Barke (SPD) is now calling for binding quotas for European steel within the recently published Industrial Accelerator Act of the European Commission. In his view, the legislation contains a serious gap.
Minister Ignores Rising Costs for Processing Industries
What Barke conveniently ignores is that unilateral protection of domestic steel producers – through tariffs, quotas, CBAM, and origin requirements – raises costs for the processing industries. Ultimately, this burden falls on the countless small and medium-sized enterprises that depend on competitive steel prices.
German VDMA warns against “Local Content”
The German mechanical engineering association VDMA has warned precisely about this. The organization criticized “local content” requirements as an additional burden for its members and argued that the Industrial Accelerator Act distracts from the real challenges: excessive bureaucracy, a weakened internal market, and Europe’s declining technological leadership.
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