Activities of Sari ESSAYAH related to 2013/2177(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the action plan for a competitive and sustainable steel industry in Europe
Amendments (35)
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital -A (new)
Recital -A (new)
-A. whereas the current crisis has resulted in global overproduction of steel, but in 2050 the use of steel and other basic metals is expected to be two or three times the present level, and the European steel industry needs to survive this "valley of death" in the coming years, invest and improve its competitiveness;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas constant restructuring in the sector, reflecting in part a management focus on profit at the expense of investment and wages, reduced the workforce from 1 million in 1970 to 369 000 in 2012, with a devastnegatingve impact on employment levels across whole regions and during the current economic crisis since 2008 the steel industry has cut production capacities permanently or temporarily, shedding over 60.000 jobs and whereas this cutting of production is continuing rapidly while in practice EU is exporting its production capacity and increasing imports;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Recital A (c) (new)
Recital A (c) (new)
Ac. whereas the steel industry, especially special steels, is fully global and Europe faces severe competition from third countries while the production costs in the EU are higher due to unilateral cost burdens inside the EU caused mainly by EU energy and climate policies leading to a situation where gas prices in the EU are three to four times and electricity prices double those in the US;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Recital A (h) (new)
Recital A (h) (new)
Ah. whereas in the ETS, according to Eurofer, the benchmarks for hot metal and coke are set about 10% below best performance, the cross-sectoral correction factor cuts free allocation by 17,5% in 2020, which adds up to an average shortage of 21,6% over the years 2013- 2020 for even the most efficient installation in the EU; whereas, furthermore, the current directive phases out free allocation from 25% of the benchmarks decreasing linearly to 0% in 2027 and whereas the realistic potential for CO2 reduction is only about 15% until 2050;
Amendment 16 #
Draft opinion
Recital A (j) (new)
Recital A (j) (new)
Aj. whereas the EU steel industry is dependent on import of raw materials, while 40% of global industrial raw materials face export restrictions and Europe is exporting large quantities of scrap steel when many countries restrict its export;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. IWelcomes the Action Plan and its proposals, and is convinced that one has to tackle the root causes of jobs reduction, but is concerned at the lack of ambition and concreteness in the action plan for the steel industry in Europe; calls urgently for a strategy that draws on all the European Union policy tools, including for employment and training, and a precise roadmap with precise timelines for the implementation of the Action Plan;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas more steel scrap is exported from the EU than is imported into it, and the EU thus loses an important volume of valuable secondary raw material; whereas EU steel industry is dependent on import of raw materials, while 40% of global industrial raw materials face export restrictions, and Europe is exporting lots of scrap steel when many countries restrict its export;
Amendment 28 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 (c) (new)
Paragraph 1 (c) (new)
1c. Is of the opinion that healthy economic growth is a prerequisite to boosting demand for steel but also that major infrastructure projects would be of benefit in order to encourage demand and foster employment;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
Ia. whereas the current crisis has resulted in global overproduction of steel, but in 2050 the use of steel and other basic metals is expected to be twice or thrice the present, and European steel industry needs to survive this ‘valley of death’ during the next years, invest and improve its competitiveness;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for State aid rules to be revised tothe promoteion of productive investment, employment and training, to encourage the involvement of employees' representatives in management and decision-making and to introduce the option of public takeovers in crisis situations but agrees with the European Economic and Social Committee report CESE 1431/2004 that "past experience with the restructuring of the European steel industry shows that state aid to companies is a two-edged sword: it only benefits particular companies and results in misallocation, as uneconomic production capacity is kept in business over the medium term", therefore aid should be limited to alleviate social hardship, support R&D on innovative steel products and production processes, and to remove unilateral cost burdens in the EU which competitors outside the EU do not have;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
Ib. whereas steel industry, especially special steels, is fully global and Europe faces severe competition from third countries while the production costs in the EU are higher due to unilateral cost burdens inside the EU caused mainly by EU energy and climate policies leading to a situation where gas prices in the EU are three to four times, and electricity prices double of those in the US;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I c (new)
Recital I c (new)
Ic. whereas in the ETS according to Eurofer the benchmarks for hot metal and coke are set about 10% below best performance, the cross-sectoral correction factor cuts free allocation by 17,5% in 2020, which adds up to an average shortage of 21,6% over the years 2013- 2020 for even the most efficient installation in the EU. Furthermore the current directive phases out free allocation from 25% of the benchmarks decreasing linearly to 0% in 2027, and whereas the realistic potential for CO2 reduction is only about 15% until 2050;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s action plan for the steel industry in Europe as an important element to prevent the further relocation of steel production outside of Europe, but is concerned at the lack of ambition and concreteness in the action plan for the steel industry in Europe; calls urgently for a strategy that draws on all the European Union policy tools, including for employment and training, and a precise roadmap with precise timelines for the implementation of the Action Plan;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 (c) (new)
Paragraph 2 (c) (new)
2c. Is of the opinion that EU funds should not be used to maintain business activities of certain installations, as this would distort competition between steelmakers in the EU, but only to mitigate the impact of closures or downsizing on the workers affected and promotion of youth employment in the sector;
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Endorses the principle that ongoing social dialogue with workers' representatives should be a requirement; calls for ambitious EU-level arrangements for keeping workers informed and consulting them, and for works councils to be given more rights and responsibilitiesgreater cooperation between employers and workers representatives at all levels (EU, national, local and company levels), for the implementation of the Action Plan;
Amendment 49 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 (e) (new)
Paragraph 3 (e) (new)
3e. Stresses that the Commission should address more concretely and in detail the issue of carbon leakage and that the 2030 climate and energy policy targets must be technically and economically feasible for EU industries and best performers should have no direct or indirect additional costs resulting from climate policies; further stresses that the provisions for carbon leakage should provide 100% free allocation of technically achievable benchmarks with no reduction factor for carbon leakage sectors, thus avoiding the situation where according to Eurofer by 2020 the EU steel industry receives only 62% of the emission allowances needed;
Amendment 52 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 (h) (new)
Paragraph 3 (h) (new)
3h. Notes that energy prices in the EU have sharply increased in recent years, resulting in a marked deterioration in the competitiveness of EU industry on a global field and agrees with the Commission's promise to step up efforts to decrease the gap of energy prices and costs between EU industry and its main competitors and considers that the Commission should, within 12 months, come up with concrete proposals to this effect;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 (j) (new)
Paragraph 3 (j) (new)
3j. Notes that ETS benefits electricity producers who can carry the extra cost to the electricity prices paid by their customers but the steel sector in global markets cannot increase prices, thus employment opportunities are being exported; considers the Commission proposals on compensating the increased electricity prices to be well-meant, but since the Member States face financial difficulties, the compensation should come from the European level, from a European Fund under the Commission, if ETS is to be continued;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 (k) (new)
Paragraph 3 (k) (new)
3k. Calls for measures to tackle unfair trading practices and the breach of WTO rules as the global overproduction of steels has led to protectionism, direct or indirect state aid and dumping of the surplus steel to the European markets;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 (l) (new)
Paragraph 3 (l) (new)
3l. Stresses that all Commission departments, including DG Competition, DG Climate action and DG Environment, need to work together towards saving EU steel industries to avoid conflicting counterproductive measures ( CSCF, backloading, hindering necessary consolidation, etc.), which lead to increased steel imports and increased global CO2 emissions;
Amendment 62 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses the importance of EU support for training and employment in industrial transition processes; calls for such support to be kept in place and for its use to be monitored; to improve planning and management of change by promoting trading, upgrading skills and supporting retraining; is worried about the lack of systematic solutions to the generational change and the future skills shortages, loss of know-how and competences, and stresses the need to retain the workforce and skills, which are vital for the future;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 (c) (new)
Paragraph 4 (c) (new)
4c. Considers it necessary to remove scrap metal management from the general rules of waste management and to reduce the bureaucracy in the scrap metal trade;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 (d) (new)
Paragraph 4 (d) (new)
4d. Welcomes the Commission proposal to include metallurgical coke in the list of critical raw materials and notes that, from the point of view of the European production of stainless steel, the availability of nickel and chromium, scrap steel and certain other substances is also critical;
Amendment 67 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that the implementation of the Action Plan should also focus on the short- term impact of the economic crisis on the sector’s workforce, and calls on the Commission to closely monitor capacity reductions and plant closures in Europe; is of the opinion that EU funds should not be used to maintain business activities of certain installations as this would distort competition between steelmakers in the EU, but only to mitigate the impact of closures or downsizing on the workers affected and promotion of youth employment in the sector;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 (e) (new)
Paragraph 4 (e) (new)
4e. Considers it necessary to separate metallurgical coke from fossil fuels and thus from the ETS, because it cannot at present be replaced by other fuels;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for account to be taken inof the new European strategy on health and safety at work, and in policy documents on pensions, of the arduous nature of and other social benefits for the workers in the steel sector.
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. ACalls to promote productive investment, employment and training but agrees with the European Economic and Social Committee report CESE 1431/2004 that ‘past experience with the restructuring of the European steel industry shows that state aid to companies is a two-edged sword: it only benefits particular companies and results in misallocation, as uneconomic production capacity is kept in business over the medium term’, therefore aid should be limited to alleviate social hardship, support R&D on innovative steel products and production processes, and to remove unilateral cost burdens in the EU which competitors outside the EU do not have; asks the Commission to immediately and fully deploy EU funding to reduce the social impact of industrial restructuring;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses the importance of EU support for training and employment in industrial transition processes; calls for such support to be kept in place and for its use to be monitored; to improve planning and management of change by promoting training, upgrading skills and supporting retraining; is worried about the lack of systematic solutions to the generational change and the future skills shortages, loss of know-how and competences, and stresses the need to retain the workforce and the skills vital for the future;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Stresses that the Commission should more concretely and in detail address the issue of carbon leakage, and that the 2030 climate and energy policy targets must be technically and economically feasible for EU industries and best performers should have no direct or indirect additional costs resulting from climate policies, the provisions for carbon leakage should provide 100% free allocation of technically achievable benchmarks with no reduction factor for carbon leakage sectors, thus avoiding the situation where according to Eurofer by 2020 the EU steel industry receives only 62% of the emission allowances needed;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Notes that energy prices in the EU have sharply increased in the recent years resulting in a marked competitiveness deterioration of the EU industry on a global field and agrees with the Commission promise to step up efforts to decrease the gap of energy prices and costs between the EU industry and its main competitors and considers that the Commission should come up within 12 months with concrete proposals to the effect;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Notes that ETS benefits electricity producers who can carry the extra cost to the electricity prices paid by their customers, but the steel sector in global markets cannot increase prices, thus employment opportunities are being exported, considers the Commission proposals on compensating the increased electricity prices to be well-meaning, but since the Member States face financial difficulties, the compensation should come from the European level, from an European Fund under the Commission, if ETS is to be continued;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Stresses that all the departments of the Commission, including DG Competition, DG Climate action and DG Environment, need to work together towards saving EU steel industries to avoid conflicting counterproductive measures ( CSCF, backloading, hindering necessary consolidation etc.) which lead to increased steel imports and increased global CO2 emissions;
Amendment 121 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Stresses that producing steel from scrap reduces energy inputs by 75 % and raw material inputs by 80 %; urges the Commission to ensure the efficient operation of the European steel scrap market; encourages the maximal use of scrap as a way to ensure access to raw materials, mitigate energy dependency, decrease emissions, and work towards a circular economy; supports the Commission’s initiative of inspecting and controlling waste shipments to avoid illegal exports of scrap; considers it necessary to remove scrap metal management from the general rules of waste management and to reduce the bureaucracy in the scrap metal trade;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls to tackle unfair trading practices and breaking of WTO rules as the global overproduction of steels has led to protectionism, direct or indirect state aid and dumping of the surplus steel to the European markets; calls on the Commission to fight unfair competition from third countries, using the appropriate measures at its disposal in a proportionate and effective way;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Encourages the Commission to implement the measures proposed to ensure access to coking coal; considers it necessary to separate metallurgical coke from fossil fuels and thus from the ETS, because it cannot at present be replaced by other fuels, welcomes the Commission proposal to include metallurgical coke into the list of critical raw materials, and notes that from the point of view of the European production of stainless steel also availability of nickel and chromium, scrap steel and certain other substances are critical;