Ref. Ares(2022)879754 - 07/02/2022
level of free al owances. It was very important to take into account the territorial dimension
and ensuring investments across al parts of the EU. Eurofer also stressed the need for the
right framework conditions and infrastructure, with a particular focus on hydrogen.
Eurofer explained the strong competitive pressure on the global steel market, with almost no
possibility to pass on costs due to stricter environmental regulation in Europe. They strongly
opposed the al egations by some civil society stakeholders that the sector was making
windfal profits through the EU ETS.
Eurofer also noted that the sector had an average profit margin of 1.75%. They stressed that
free al owance were necessary for EU exports to remain competitive on global markets,
especial y in absence of export rebates. While only around 15% of production was exported,
this amount was crucial to operate steel plants in a cost-effective way because of very high
fixed costs.
Eurofer reiterated its request for a European steel summit between the Commission
President and steel CEOs and argued that this could be an opportunity to further discussions
on possible commitments/guarantees linked to decarbonisation projects.