Europese staalindustrie bespreekt manieren om concurrerend te blijven (en)

European steelmakers are currently facing extremely challenging economic conditions, but new opportunities are opening up for the steel industry through emerging industrial applications in traditional or technology-based industries, such as construction and renewable energy.

The High-Level Roundtable on steel - a platform for dialogue between industry, trade unions and the European Commission - has today adopted Recommendations to help create the right framework for the European steel sector to maintain its long-term competitiveness in an increasingly global context. These concrete proposals, to be considered by the Commission, Member States and the industry over the few next years, include measures on trade, raw materials, legislation costs, climate change, energy, environment, employment and research and development.

The Roundtable was convened by European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani i, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship and László Andor i, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and attended by representatives from 13 steel producing Member States and the European Parliament. These include French Minister of Productive Recovery, Arnaud Montebourg, the Minister of Economy of the Belgian Walloon Government, Jean-Claude Marcourt, Luxembourg's Minister of Economy, Etienne Schneider, and Austrian Federal Minister of Economy, Family, and Youth, Reinhold Mitterlehner; as well as top ranking Government representatives and civil servants from the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

The president of industry body Eurofer, Wolfgang Eder, Deputy General Secretary of the union industriAll, Bart Samyn and Pervinche Beres, Chair of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs of the European Parliament, also participated.