Steel There? The European Steel Industry after the Great Recession

This paper provides an updated and extensive picture of the eu steel industry, and suggestsevidence-based policy indications to foster the international competitiveness of eu steelmakers. The never ending economic crisis started at the end of 2008 has been having a harshimpact on the steel industry. Despite some signs of recovery, most of the eu steel makers arestill bogged down in the «Great Recession». Furthermore, steel production has been subjectto structural changes over the last twelve years, mainly due to the increase in the Asian production,which posed a new and significant competitive threat to eu producers, whose productioncosts are higher than those borne by other international competitors. eu institutionsand Member States still have policy levers for manoeuvre which could be used to provide cyclicaland structural relief to this industry. Based on the findings provided in the sectoral analysis,three sets of policies are suitable to tackle some of the most crucial challenges for steelmakers: access to raw materials, energy policies, and demand-side policies.