About 200 people from Europe’s metal industry protested outside the European Commission in Brussels on Monday, urging the EU to ensure the sector can compete fairly with rivals abroad.
The demonstration was organised by Eurometal, the European metals association. Its president, Alexander Julius, said the industry was not asking for subsidies or special treatment, but for fair competition.
Eurometal said European companies are making major efforts to meet EU environmental and climate rules. At the same time, however, products are being imported from outside the bloc without having to meet the same standards.
According to Julius, this has left European industry unable to compete effectively. Companies are either shutting down operations or moving production elsewhere, the association said, putting about 13.5 million jobs at risk.
Protesters used ten coffins to symbolically bury production capacity, jobs and industrial expertise. At midday, participating lorries sounded their horns at the same time.
Steel imported into the European Union is already subject to import quotas, trade defence measures and the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism, known as CBAM. But the sector says these measures still do not create a level playing field.
