Ref. Ares(2021)4414341 - 07/07/2021
From:
(CAB-VESTAGER)
Sent:
jeudi 23 avril 2020 20:09
To:
'
Subject:
RE: European steel industry's position on the draft ETS State Aid Guidelines
Dear
,
I am pleased to be able to offer a 30-minute call slot with Ms McCallum and Ms
Would Tuesday 5th of May at 3 pm work on your side ?
I would appreciate you letting the us know at your earliest convenience if this is suitable for you.
With kind regards,
Assistant to
European Commission
Cabinet of Margrethe Vestager
Executive Vice-President
for A Europe fit for Digital Age
From:
d (CAB-VESTAGER)
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 1:41 PM
To: MCCALLUM Linsey (CAB-VESTAGER) <
x@xxxxxxx.xx>
Subject: RE: European steel industry's position on the draft ETS State Aid Guidelines
Dear
Thank you for your letter addressed to Mrs McCallum and
, it is my pleasure to acknowledge
its good receipt.
Best,
Assistant to
European Commission
Cabinet of Margrethe Vestager
Executive Vice-President
for A Europe fit for Digital Age
Commissioner for Competition
From:
eurofer.be>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2020 10:42 AM
To: MCCALLUM Linsey (CAB-VESTAGER)
Cc:
(CAB-VESTAGER)
<
Subject: European steel industry's position on the draft ETS State Aid Guidelines
Dear Ms McCallum, dear
On behalf of the European steel industry, we would like to share with you our position on the
Commission draft ETS State aid Guidelines for compensation of indirect carbon costs, which were
subject to the EC public consultation open until 10 March 2020 and will be finalised in the upcoming
weeks.
While the steel sector (NACE 2410) is included in the draft list of eligible sectors, several elements of
the draft text (e.g. state aid intensity limited at 75%, exclusion of sectors in the steel value chain such
as industrial gases, mining of iron ores and tubes) could result in a very low level of compensation
(up to less than 50% of the actual indirect costs). Please find below a short overview of the key
issues, which are also shared by the other eligible sectors as indicated in the attached joint paper:
the consumption of industrial gases (e.g. oxygen, hydrogen, etc.) should also be considered
as eligible for financial compensation when it occurs in a sector that is exposed to indirect
carbon leakage such as steel
The additional compensation beyond 75% should be capped at 0.5% of the GVA and should
be open to all eligible sectors and not restricted only to some of them
The existing regional areas (in particular the Central West Europe and Nordic regions) should
be maintained
Sectors belonging to the steel value chain (mining of iron ores and seamless pipes) need to
remain eligible for compensation
Compensation should not be made conditional because it does not distort incentives for
energy efficiency investments, since it is based already on very strict benchmarks
Due to the fact that ETS State Aid Guidelines are expected to be finalized in the coming few months,
we kindly request the opportunity of a web meeting/cal at your earliest convenience to discuss
the above points and elaborate on our proposals.
The European steel industry has been working intensively in the past year on a set of measures that
would empower it to develop, upscale and roll-out new technologies that could reduce EU steel
production’s CO2 emissions by 30% by 2030 and by 80 to 95% by 2050, while contributing to
greenhouse gas mitigation across all sectors. These are summarised in the EUROFER position paper
“A Green Deal on Steel – Priorities for Transitioning the EU to Carbon Neutrality and Circularity”.
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Low- or CO2-neutral energy will represent a key factor of success; the EU steel industry will require
approximately 400TWh of CO2-free electricity every year by 2050 (including for the production and
use of hydrogen). The reliable availability and abundant supply of low- or CO2-neutral energy
(mainly electricity and hydrogen) at economically viable, affordable cost levels is a necessary pre-
condition for the successful transformation of the steel sector in the coming decade and beyond. In
this context, we would therefore take the opportunity of a meeting also to discuss how the
Environmental and Energy Aid Guidelines (EEAG) could contribute to a successful transition of our
sector.
Thank you for considering our request,
Kind regards
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