A few days ago, we already took a critical look at the fact that the European downstream industry is not being heard by the EU Commission. And we found out that it is more than difficult to be heard at all by the Commission or the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) under the existing conditions.
Why is everyone always talking just about EUROFER?
Of course, we wondered why at the EU level people seem to talk only to and about the steel giants and their lobby organization EUROFER. We had already written the following commentary on this subject:
“It is practical to have written into the EU regulations that you have to represent at least 25% of the TOTAL European industrial sector affected in order to initiate a procedure. And it is therefore no wonder why hardly any metal processing downstream association is really heard at EU level. Unfortunately, this is not fair and just. But it seems that people prefer to talk only to EUROFER.”
Quote: BMWi: How the German Federal Ministry of Economics influences (world) steel policy
Who is allowed to talk to the European Commission or MEPs and who is not?
Now that we have heard that the cries for help from entrepreneurs in the downstream industry regarding the prevailing steel shortage and exploding prices have been shot down by EU officials, we had to take a closer look. On who is actually meeting with whom and why.
EUROFER steel lobbyists among the frontrunners
From 2019 to March 2021, the lobby organization of European steel producers EUROFER had 24 registered meetings with members of the European Commission and seven more with individual members of the European Parliament (MEPs). And that was just EUROFER.
World’s largest steel producer ArcelorMittal a welcome guest
This does not include the direct lobbyist meetings with European steelmakers. ArcelorMittal alone has had at least 16 meetings with EU commissioners or their cabinet members since the beginning of 2020.
What topics were the steelmakers allowed to talk about?
The EUROFER and its sponsors were concerned with topics such as European climate law, the European Hydrogen Strategy and the EU industrial strategy. But also lobbyist meetings concerning the industry as a whole in Europe with topics like EU steel safeguard, EU ETS, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the ETS revision of guidelines or ETS indirect cost and state aid.
The EU Industrial Strategy consists only of steel and a little chemistry
An exciting finding: For example, only the large steel producers, their own lobby organizations and the chemical industry were invited to the meeting with EU Commissioner Thierry Breton on the EU industrial strategy. And who are we urgently missing here? Exactly! The downstream industry.
Steel processing and steel trading downstream industry is not heard
Since the new EU Commission has been active under Ursula von der Leyen since 2019, apparently not one association of the steel trading or steel processing downstream industry has managed to get through to the EU Commission.
4 million employees in Germany alone and the EU looks the other way?
Can this be true? Is the metalworking industry with 4 million employees (Source) in Germany alone given so little weight by Europe, its member states and the EU-Commission?
Critical questions seek critical answers
And when we ask critical questions, we always hope for critical answers. We are wrong in our presentation? We have overlooked something in our consideration? Or do you know something that we should include in this article or even take a critical look at?
Then send us an email at info@steelnews.biz or make an appointment for a clarifying conversation with us at +49 7642 9282851.
Read also:
- EU Safeguard Measures: Calls for immediate end grow louder
- Green Steel and CBAM: Or how the steel producing industry is artificially kept alive
- EUROFER predicts steel shortage and aims to keep hurting EU economy
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