Statement on the European Steel and Metals Action Plan
20 March 2025 | The European Steel and Metals Action Plan shall—based on the Steel Dialogue convened by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 4th March—complement the Clean Industrial Deal and the Action Plan for Affordable Energy with sector-specific measures to reduce the burden on the steel and metals industry while supporting decarbonisation. The action plan is based on six pillars:
- ensuring abundant and affordable clean energy,
- preventing carbon leakage,
- promoting and protecting Europe’s industrial capacities,
- promoting circularity for metals,
- defending quality industrial jobs,
- and de-risking through lead markets and support to investments.
The particular value of the action plan is especially reflected in view of the trade policy proposals, which are very welcome. This applies above all to the planned corrections of the existing shortcomings of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) (export solution, scope extension and prevention of resource shuffling) as well as concerning trade defence (creation of a „melt and pour“ rule). Of great importance is the strengthening of the EU safeguards from 1 April 2025 and the announcement of an appropriate and highly effective level of protection beyond 30th June 2026 to the EU’s steel sector.
The announcements of energy price reliefs are aligned with the framework of the Clean Industrial Deal and Action Plan on Affordable Energy and are quite vague and not far-reaching enough. Although, the action plan provides a little more room for manoeuvre for relief, a concrete concept for a competitive industrial electricity price is still missing. More extensive measures are necessary.
The key points of lead markets are captured at a high level of abstraction. Unfortunately, the planned labels for green products are not binding, nor is there any reference to existing labels, such as the Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS), which was developed in Germany and is currently rolled out on European level.
To stimulate the circular economy, the right challenges in terms of processing and availability are identified and a review is rightly carried out before concrete measures are taken. With regard to the strategically highly relevant secondary raw material steel scrap, a concrete monitoring measure is missing.
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