25 October 2024 – We followed with great interest the debate ‘Tackling the steel crisis: boosting competitive and sustainable European steel and maintaining quality jobs’ in the EU Parliament on 23 October 2024. We were struck by the statements made by some Members of the European Parliament about an alleged steel crisis, which we cannot leave uncommented – as they often seem to come directly from the PR machine and the whispers of the European steel lobby.
- Steel crisis in focus at EP Plenary debate: Who suffers most from these statements?
- In Europe, the industrial output of steel decreased by 20% over the past 10 years?
- 100,000 jobs were lost in Europe over a 15 year period?
- We are also flooded with imports from other countries?
- Steel makes us independent as a European Union?
- Energy intensive industries such as steel must benefit from electricity at competitive prices?
- Steel crisis: Who ultimately suffers the most from such statements?
Steel crisis in focus at EP Plenary debate: Who suffers most from these statements?
We were struck by the statements about an alleged steel crisis made by some Members of the European Parliament, which we cannot leave uncommented – as they often seem to come directly from the PR machine and the whispers of the European steel lobby.
We have enclosed a selection of the most frequent statements on the “steel crisis” and have of course also tried to improve the obviously prevailing data and information situation for you.
In Europe, the industrial output of steel decreased by 20% over the past 10 years?
Commission Statement: “In Europe, the industrial output of steel decreased by 20% over the past 10 years, switching from a trade surplus to a trade deficit of about 10 million tons.”
Answer: “We assume that the EU27 will move from its current position as a net exporter of finished steel to become self-sufficient from 2030 on, meaning that Finished Steel Production (FSP) and Finished Steel Consumption (FSC) will be identical in this period.” The domestic steel industry has known for more than a decade that it will be self-sufficient by 2030 at the latest.
Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Steel Institute VDEh, 2013
Answer: “Consistent with long-term trends, the model assumes that EU steel exports will decline in future, from traditionally being a net exporter to becoming self-sufficient in steel by 2030. This means that steel production in the EU will grow less than steel consumption.”
Source: Joint Research Center (JRC), 2012
100,000 jobs were lost in Europe over a 15 year period?
MEP Statement: “100,000 jobs were lost in Europe over a 15 year period. This is not acceptable.”
Answer: “From 2008 to 2023, the EU steel industry has lost around 90,000 jobs in total”
Source: EUROFER, 5 September 2024
Answer: “Now, however, the figure of 100,000 jobs lost in the last 15 years is being bandied about again. Compared to 2008, it was only around 82,000 jobs that were ‘lost’.”
Source: Steelnews.biz, 9 September 2024
We are also flooded with imports from other countries?
MEP Statement: “And we are also flooded with imports from other countries”
MEP Statement: “whereas our imports are staying at the same level”
Answer: “In 2015, 23.265 million metric tons of steel were imported into the EU, in 2023 it was 23.933 million metric tons.”
Source: Based on EUROFER data, European Steel in Figures 2023 and 2024, Imports, Third Countries, all qualities for delivery
Steel makes us independent as a European Union?
MEP Statement: “And it also makes us independent as a European Union.”
Answer: “On average, 100 million tons of iron ore alone have to be imported into the EU every year to satisfy the hunger of CO2-intensive blast furnaces for raw materials.”
Source: Based on latest Eurostat data and EUROFER, 2013
Energy intensive industries such as steel must benefit from electricity at competitive prices?
MEP Statement: “we must ensure that energy intensive industries such as steel benefit from electricity at competitive prices”
Answer: “…integrated steelworks using the conventional BF-BOF route are almost self-sufficient with regard to their electricity needs thanks to the use of their process gases (Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl, 2019).”
Source: ESTEP, 2021
Steel crisis: Who ultimately suffers the most from such statements?
Who suffers most from such statements about an alleged steel crisis? That’s right, the small and medium-sized enterprises, which not only make up the largest proportion of companies, but also the largest proportion of employees in the EU. 11.5 million jobs in the metalworking and metal-consuming industries alone. It is now up to the Members of the European Parliament to put an end to this unfair behaviour of large corporations and their lobby organisations towards SMEs in the European Union.
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