2 July 2026 – Six European steel corporations presented themselves as climate investors in the European Parliament on 30 June. A look behind the numbers shows: above all, this is a demand for more taxpayers’ money – packaged as a private investment promise. Last chance: EU Melt & Pour consultation ends today – SMEs must act now.
Last Chance: Melt & Pour Consultation Ends Today – SMEs Must Act Now
The EU Commission closes its consultation today at 23:59 on the evidence requirements for the country of melt and pour of steel under the new EU Steel Regulation. What is decided here will determine which documents importers will have to provide in the future – and how bureaucratically burdensome this will become.
Anyone who remains silent accepts what large corporations and associations have decided on their behalf. SMEs, traders, and importers should still make their voices heard now and push for practical, proportionate evidence requirements.
Participate now – EU survey here >>>
Steel: “EUR 10 Billion in Investments” – Just a Lobbying Maneuver?
Six European steel corporations presented themselves as climate investors in the European Parliament on 30 June. A look behind the numbers shows: above all, this is a demand for more taxpayers’ money – packaged as a private investment promise.
The Promise and Its Flaws
“Across our companies, we are committing more than 10 billion euros of CAPEX investments for low-emission production” – this is the core sentence of the joint statement by Outokumpu, SSAB, Salzgitter, Saarstahl, Dillinger, and SHS. It sounds like industrial responsibility. But only to a limited extent.
A breakdown of the projects shows that of the roughly EUR 10.5 billion in project volume, around EUR 3.7 billion consists of already pledged public funding – roughly one third, financed by taxpayers. The rest does not largely consist of equity capital, but of borrowed capital: SSAB secured EUR 2.3 billion in green bonds, while SHS secured EUR 1.7 billion through a banking consortium.
The corporations’ genuine private equity capital is therefore only a fraction of the communicated amount.
Whose Billions – and How Unevenly Distributed
The spread between the signatories is particularly revealing. The Power4Steel project by SHS, Saarstahl, and Dillinger is financed by public funds to around 74% – from the German federal government, Saarland, and EU state aid of up to EUR 2.6 billion. SSAB, by contrast, is largely financing its Luleå project itself – with public support below 4%.
A blanket “EUR 10 billion” statement levels out this fundamental difference. Anyone who describes 74% taxpayer financing as a “commitment” is stretching the meaning of an investment promise considerably.
In addition, the communicated figures are mostly approved state-aid ceilings, not disbursed amounts. And Salzgitter already postponed expansion stages 2 and 3 of SALCOS by around three years in September 2025 – due to high energy costs and the slow ramp-up of hydrogen.
Investment Promise as a Lobbying Lever
The pattern is familiar: an investment promise is presented with great public effect in order to legitimize political demands. In this specific case, the signatories are demanding the stabilization of the EU ETS at a high level, an expansion of CBAM to downstream products – and the return of ETS revenues to “industrial decarbonization,” meaning back into their own industry.
Translated: we have invested with taxpayers’ money and borrowed capital – now make sure that the CO2 price logic that makes our bet profitable does not change, and protect us from imports that would be cheaper without CBAM.
What This Really Means
The joint statement is not proof of industrial responsibility. It is a well-staged lobbying document that suggests private investment where substantial parts consist of taxpayer money and borrowed capital – while simultaneously demanding more protection, more revenue redistribution, and regulatory safeguarding.
Anyone who genuinely expects European corporations to assume private capital risk and market responsibility should take a close look at whose billions are actually being promised here.
Latest news
- EU Steel Tariffs from 1 July: Late, Unlawful, and Geopolitically Naive
- Breaking: Steel Quotas Published in the Official Journal at the Last Minute
- Asian Base Metals Start the Week Firm
We at the Gerber Group have been trading in stainless steel worldwide for over 20 years. We are your experts when it comes to purchasing, import, logistics and services. Information is a vital part of this. Because only then can you and we make the right decisions. Do you have any questions? Contact us now.
Disclaimer: Many things here represent our opinion. Others are information from the Internet. We can therefore never claim to be correct or complete. And never base a business decision solely on the news you receive from us.
