This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Meetings between Eurofer and DG TAXUD'.



Ref. Ares(2022)659843 - 28/01/2022
From:
THOMAS Gerassimos (TAXUD)
Sent:
vendredi 4 juin 2021 08:38
To:
Director General
Cc:
); 
)
Subject:
Re: Meeting request on the EUROFER letter to the College of Commissioners on 
CBAM & EU ETS
Follow Up Flag:
Follow up
Flag Status:
Flagged
Thank you. Happy to arrange a meeting.  
Best regards  
G Thomas  
Sent from my iPhone 
 
 
On 3 Jun 2021, at 14:28, Director General <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xx> wrote: 
  
Dear Mr Thomas, Dear Gerassimos, 
Would it be possible to arrange a web-meeting with you in the next few days an before 
closure of the inter-service consultation in order to discuss the content of the letter we have 
sent to the College on CBAM (attached)?  
In particular, I would like to stress that if a careful introduction of CBAM as suggested in the 
letter is not an option for the Commission, the EU steel industry must not be part of the first 
wave of sectors covered and would prefer being considered only in the second wave. 
EUROFER would be active and contribute to the further fine-tuning of the CBAM and work 
out the most appropriate mechanism to avoid carbon leakage.  
We are fully aware that over time free allocation will run out and we will depend on border 
measures or any other system effectively preventing carbon leakage. But if we loose 
benchmark based free allocation and compensation now, our ambitious projects to 
decarbonise are at stake as well as the EU's objective to have a succesful decarbonisation of 
industry. I attach a non-exhaustive map of potential IPCEI projects of the EU steel industry 
which, with the right legislative framework, infrastructures and funding support will reduce 
the sector's direct and indirect emissions by around 30% already in 2030 compared to 2018: 
54 projects, 76 million t/CO2 reduction in 2030 (yearly), €25 billion Capex (without Opex). 
There is likely no other sector with such ambition and far reaching total emission reductions 
(ca. 2% of total EU CO2 emissions). All depends on the framework the EU will agree upon. 
But how can we ever achieve our ambitious objectives with such breath-taking cost increase 
the Commission has now in mind for our industry already in the next 8 years?  
I would also like to share with you and your team the attached analysis extracted from the 
Ecofys/Navigant model to explain the devastating impact that a fast free allocation phase out 
(50% in 2023 declining to 0% in 2030) would have on the steel sector (with a particular 
impact on primary steel making). Such additional costs cannot be recovered by the 
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companies with a CBAM, since the passing on of such costs would be impeded by 
international competitors that would find a way to sell their products at lower prices, even 
with a CBAM (through resource shuffling, or cost absorption, or just dumping). Therefore 
our request for a careful introduction on this tool. 
I sincerely hope this kind of evidence can be used by in the Commission internal process on 
CBAM/ETS.  
Thanks a lot for considering my meeting request. 
Kind regards, 
Axel Eggert 
 
<jkiamhehnekjimfo.png> 
On 27/05/2021 10:36, Director General wrote: 
Dear Mr Thomas, Dear Gerassimos, 
Please find attached for your information a letter on CBAM/EU ETS we have 
sent to the College. 
Kind regards, 
Axel Eggert 
 
 
-------- Forwarded Message --------  
Subject: EUROFER letter to the College of Commissioners on CBAM & EU ETS
Date: Wed, 26 May 2021 19:36:42 +0200 
From: Director General <xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xx> 
To: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxx.xx 
 
 
To the College of Commissioners 
 
Dear President, dear Commissioners, 
Please find attached a letter from Geert Van Poelvoorde and Axel 
Eggert Director, respectively President and Director General of 
EUROFER on CBAM and EU ETS. 
Best regards, 
<cmbodfbdgbompcof.png> 
<20210526 Letter to the College of Commissioners.pdf> 
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<20210528_ETS_and_CBAM scenario.xlsx> 
<Eurofer Map IPCEI projects_short list.pdf> 
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