The Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) will today be holding an extraordinary meeting of the 'Competitiveness' Council in response to the current crisis in the European steel sector which has led to a series of plant closures and job losses across the EU.
The meeting will be chaired by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy, Étienne Schneider, in Brussels. Ministers of the Economy will report on the situation and examine the measures necessary to rectify competitiveness in the sector.
The European steel industry is currently in crisis, with the economic situation creating a slowdown in industrial activity, bringing steel prices down and resulting in a significant decrease in steel demand. At the same time, the cost of raw materials, such as iron ore, have risen, and energy prices have increased which has an impact on the steel industry as well as on other energy-intensive sectors.
In addition, Europe's steel industry is under fierce competition from producers in third countries such as China and Russia, who often use trade restrictions to provide benefits to their own steel industry. Large volumes of cheap steel imports recently arrived on the European market, driving prices down even further. The result has been reduced production from many steel plants and massive layoffs.
The Deputy Prime Minister has invited several decision-makers from European steel companies to the meeting to offer different perspectives on the sector, which is important for its close links to other industries such as autpmtoive, construction, electronic and mechanical and electrical engineering, with steel representing 11% of the EU's global output.
Decision-makers in attendance will include Robrecht Himpe, President of the European Association of Steel Producers (EUROFER) and director of ArcelorMittal; Karl-Ulrich Köhler, CEO of Tata Steel Europe; Francesc Rubiralta-Rubio, CEO of the Celsa Group; and Mario Caldonazzo, CEO of Arvedi Tubi Acciao.
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