Evangelos Mytilineos, European Metals president, stressed the importance of European metallurgy in the EU economy.
“We need metals produced in Europe. The European non-ferrous metals are the cornerstone of our energy transition, digitalisation, security and defence, issues that are becoming increasingly critical. There can be no energy security, cybersecurity or strategic security without European metals: a wind turbine made with Chinese aluminium is not energy security, internet cables made with Indian copper is not digital security, and a warship made with Indonesian nickel is not defence security.”
Mytilineos noted that “there is much that needs to be done. Now is the time to act. We need substantial relief from high energy costs, while the Clean Industrial State Aid Framework (CISAF) is dysfunctional, as it ‘nullifies’ all support with doctrinal restrictions and conditions. When it even stipulates that only clean energy produced on site can receive funding, it becomes clear that CISAF does not understand our industry – we would need an area the size of Bilbao to install the photovoltaics that an aluminum foundry requires on an annual basis!”
Therefore,, the president of European Metals spoke of “new initiatives, such as the Green Pool or the Italian model, that must be implemented immediately across Europe. And there must be an end to the inflexible permitting procedures that effectively block any strategic Critical Raw Materials Regulation (CRMA) project from being implemented in Europe. It is important to have an ’emergency brake’ on any ETS-related cost increases, starting with the ‘fallback benchmarks’ from January 2026. We cannot talk about regaining the competitiveness of our industry while imposing punitive ETS costs on it, without scientific evidence! Finally, there is the issue of financing: we need targeted financing for our strategic projects. RESourceEU has made a start with the Finance Hub, but this needs to be implemented quickly and provide substantial capital support to projects. At the same time, innovative tools, such as a floor price for critical metals such as gallium, need to be activated. How can we invest in a European gallium plant, when we know that there is always the risk that China will manipulate prices, making the investment unviable,” Mytilineos noted.
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