The European Commission announced yesterday (February 26, 2025) the Clean Industrial Deal to safeguard the future of the European market of steel production, maintain its competitiveness and resilience and decarbonize European steel production by 2050.
European steelmakers need support due to high energy costs and unfair global competition, and the agreement could provide the necessary support and decarbonize production for the future.
President Ursula von der Leyen stated: “Europe is not only a continent of industrial innovation, but also a continent of industrial production. However, the demand for clean products has slowed down, and some investments have moved to other regions. We know that too many obstacles still stand in the way of our European companies from high energy prices to excessive regulatory burden. The Clean Industrial Deal is to cut the ties that still hold our companies back and make a clear business case for Europe.”
While the agreement focuses mainly on two related sectors, energy-intensive industries and clean technology, the European Commission stated that they will present an action plan for the automotive sector in March and an action plan for steel and metals in the Spring, with other specific actions planned for the chemicals and clean technology industry.
The Commission noted in the statement that they will adopt a Clean Industry Deal State Aid Framework, which will ensure faster approval of state aid measures to scale up renewable energy and industrial decarbonization and ensure sufficient production capacity for clean technology, while addressing low energy costs, increasing demand for clean products and financing the transition to cleaner production. They was also announced that the Commission will help,
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Establish an Industrial Decarbonization Bank targeting EUR 100 billion in financing, based on the strengthening of the Innovation Fund and the revision of InvestEU,
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Amend the InvestEU Regulation and thereby mobilize up to EUR 50 billion of additional private and public investment, including in clean technology, clean mobility and waste reduction,
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The European Investment Bank Group will launch a series of concrete new financing instruments to support the Clean Industrial Deal
On circularity and access to materials, the need to reduce exposure to unreliable suppliers was emphasized and the European Commission announced that they will,
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Establish a mechanism for European companies to stand together and pool their demand for critical raw materials
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Establish an EU Critical Raw Materials Centre to jointly purchase raw materials on behalf of the companies concerned
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Adopt a Circular Economy Act in 2026 to accelerate the circular transition and ensure the efficient use and reuse of scarce materials, reduce global dependencies and create high-quality jobs
Emphasizing the importance of finding credible trading partners for ongoing and new trade agreements to act on a global scale, it announced the imminent launch of the Clean Trade and Investment Partnerships and simplified the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
To ensure access to a skilled workforce, the Commission announced the establishment of a Union of Skills to support quality jobs, promote social conditions and provide more support to workers in transition.
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