Gathering at their plenary session today, CoR members unanimously backed the draft opinion on Steel: Preserving sustainable jobs and growth in Europe, led by PES member Isolde Ries, First Vice-President of the Saarland regional parliament (Germany). The vote was preceded by a debate with Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska, responsible for the internal market, industry, entrepreneurship and SMEs, Edouard Martin MEP (S&D/France), rapporteur on Developing a sustainable European industry of base metals, and Paul Magnette, Minister-President of the Walloon Region (PS/Belgium).
Accompanied by 163 steel workers of her own region, Ries declared: "Europe’s steel industry has suffered heavily from global overcapacity and the import of cheap steel into the European market. The current crisis is affecting many steel-producing regions all over Europe and the fate of steel will heavily impact local and regional development. We urgently need a European response and faster, more effective trade defence instruments."
A former steel worker himself, Edouard Martin warmly endorsed the rapporteur's line and stressed the need to strike the right balance between industrial competitiveness and environmental protection. "We must set up fair mechanisms which ensure that we all contribute to climate protection, which will be a component of future competitiveness. Preserving quality jobs and preventing pollution go hand in hand".
He was joined by Paul Magnette, who strongly criticized current austerity policies and called for more investment in the steel industry as a precondition for protecting jobs.
Among the key requests of the CoR opinion are the acceleration of the EU anti-dumping procedures, the abolition of the "lesser duty rule"(so that price dumping can be quantitatively compensated in full), and more trade countermeasures by the EU against imports at dumping prices. The opinion also stresses the steel industry’s contribution to the energy transition and calls for substantial amendments to the Commission proposal for a directive on the EU emissions trading system (ETS).
Finally, in relation to the current negotiations on granting China market economy status, the CoR rapporteur stresses that "all parties must meet the relevant market economy criteria", and calls for the creation of equivalent and effective tools to protect fair trade, in the event that China is granted market economy status.
The opinion fits into the broader context of reshaping the EU's industrial policy.The PES line has already been developed in the CoR opinion on the Action Plan for the steel sector (rapporteur: Dan Kersch, Luxembourg) and on a Stronger European industry for growth and economic recovery (rapporteur: Claude Gewerc, France).
The topic will be further discussed at a citizen's debate on Steel: Preserving sustainable jobs and growth in Europe in the framework of the PES Group's external Group meeting, held in September at the invitation of PES Group PresidentCatiuscia Marini in Umbria (Italy).
