As every year, the publication of the EUROFER Annual Report is an opportunity to recap the policy work conducted by the association throughout 2022, as well as to inspect the forthcoming priority work areas EUROFER will be facing in the next months.They will be crucial to ensure that the future of green steel is and will be in Europe, which is the essential condition for the EU to achieve global leadership in net zero and secure its strategic autonomy.
EU legislation such as the Gas & Hydrogen Package, the revision of the Electricity Market Design directive, the Hydrogen Bank and the Renewable Energy directive, is fundamental to set the right conditions for a truly EU energy market system that delivers. Maximum priority must be given as well to European projects for hydrogen infrastructure, whose development is lagging behind.
Similarly, ensuring access to critical materials for the green transition such as ferrous scrap and nickel is vital, even more so in a world where over 40 countries are already applying restrictions to exports. The Critical Raw Materials Act and the Waste Shipment regulation should take this
situation fully into account.
Facilitating investment in clean technologies, creating lead markets for green steel and promoting upskilling and adequate training opportunities for young steelmakers is also indispensable.
Be assured that, also this year, we will do our best to turn these challenges into opportunities for both the European steel industry and the EU. A strong and sustainable steel sector is the backbone of a healthy EU economy and its leadership in clean tech.
We trust that the reading of the EUROFER Annual Report 2023 will serve as a valuable resource for all those who are interested in the future of our industry and the role that it plays in the European economy.
The full report is available below.
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The outlook for the European steel market in 2024 continues to lose momentum amidst persisting challenging conditions. Downside factors such as worsening geopolitical tensions, coupled with growing economic uncertainty, energy prices, inflation, interest rates have further impacted demand prospects. According to EUROFER’s latest Economic and Steel Market Outlook, these challenges have exacerbated the negative effects on apparent steel consumption, resulting in a more severe downturn in 2023 than previously projected (-9%, instead of -6.3%) and weaker growth in 2024 (+3.2%, instead of +5.6%). Output in steel-using sectors, despite showing more resilience than expected in the past year (+1.1%), is now set to decline (-1%). Imports are once again on the rise (+11% in the last quarter of 2023), capturing a staggering 27% market share throughout 2023.
Second quarter 2024 report. Data up to, and including, fourth quarter 2023
Brussels, 22 March 2024 – The future of a strong and resilient EU can only be forged with steel made in Europe. Europe-made low-carbon steel has a strategic role as it enables a net-zero economy, but today it faces strong headwinds from high energy prices, unfair competition, global overcapacity and growing unilateral carbon costs. The year 2023 has recorded the lowest European crude steel production levels ever, with a number of idled plants and dire impact on workers. Ensuring the enabling conditions for the short-term viability and the decarbonisation of the steel sector urgently needs to be at the top of the EU agenda. This is the message delivered by the European Steel Association together with a number of high-level representatives of the sector on the occasion of the Clean Transition Dialogue on Steel in the presence of the Executive Vice Presidents of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič and Margrethe Vestager.