The European summit on October 23-24 establishes new directions

Leaders of 60 companies in the steel industry: „We all want to play our part in combating climate change, but the code of European policies until 2030 for energy and climate that determines the states must be finished in two weeks, the period that must not be put in endangering the millions of jobs supported by the European steel industry„.

October 23 and 24, 2014, EU heads of state and government will decide. On new and extremely ambitious long-term policies. On Europe’s energy and climate. For this, they will also decide on the industrial growth of the environment. As well as on the evolution of job trends in the EU economy.

Open letter by the representatives of 60 companies in the steel industry

In an open letter, published on October 6, 2014, 60 CEOs, representing almost 100% of the EU steel production economy, said: „We all share the ambition to find the effective answer to climate change. To be concrete, such answers require a policy that must support by creating jobs in Europe”.

The European climate and energy framework until 2030 presents in its current form 335,000 jobs.  And 1.5 million indirect jobs in the steel industry under direct threat. In case there are no defense mechanisms in industrial competitiveness exposed to global competition in the field.

This is the cause of the conditions imposed on the steel industry by current policies. What will result from huge losses in the immediate future for the big factories.

Once implemented, the European emission treatment systems. These can cost the European steel industry around 70-100 billion euros in the period 2020-2030.

These costs will exceed the profit limits of the steel industry and the ability to reinvest.

„What the steel industry is asking of Europe is that at the meeting on October 23 and 24, it should reach an agreement on the framework of general policies. That European steel industry companies remain globally competitive.

It is vital to have a realistic picture of the sectoral targets. In which the technical and economic possibilities are treated in parallel with the theoretical targets that can be reached.

What we ask from the European summit of October 23 and 24, 2014 is simple: to provide clear indications that the new framework of the EU’s energy climate should achieve good performance, not to impose additional costs derived from direct emissions and indirect effects of CO2 resulting from the manufacture of steel„, it is stated in the letter sent.

Source: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/news-and-media/news/2014/oct/06-10-2014