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The conference, titled 'From the European Coal and Steel Community to Transformation – Challenges for the Steel Industry', is being organized by Professor Marc Bungenberg and his team, together with the Europa-Institut at Saarland University, with the support of the Saarland Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalization and Energy.
Media representatives are warmly invited to attend.
The following text has been machine translated from the German with no human editing.
The steel industry is in crisis. Demand is weak, energy prices are high, cheap imports and US tariffs are affecting domestic and export competition. At the same time, green steel is set to usher in a new era. The steel industry is facing a number of challenges. How can steel production be secured in the long term? How can the industry be protected from cheap steel imports from non-EU countries? How can the 'green transformation' be achieved? These key questions for the future of the German and European steel sector are the focus of the first 'Saarland Steel Talks'. Representatives from universities, ministries, industry and associations will discuss these issues, which are of particular importance for the Saarland.
"The topics of the presentations and discussion panels range from geopolitical raw material dependencies, energy prices and competitiveness to hydrogen technologies, climate-neutral production processes and trade policy frameworks," explains Professor Marc Bungenberg. The director of the Europa-Institut at Saarland University holds the Saarbrücken Chair of Public and Comparative Law, International Law, European Law and International Business Law, as well as the Jean Monnet Chair of Secure and Sustainable Raw Materials Law and Policy. He is organising the conference together with Dr Philipp Reinhold and Dr Mareike Fröhlich with the support of the Saarland Ministry of Economics, Innovation, Digital Affairs and Energy. The conference is part of the research project 'Significance and current challenges of the European coal and steel industry in the European unification process', which is funded by the Ernst Röchling Foundation.
A look at the programme
The conference will begin on 25 February at 10 a.m. at the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Franz-Josef-Röder-Straße 17, 66119 Saarbrücken).
After a welcome address by Ludger Santen, President of Saarland University, Anke Rehlinger, Minister-President of Saarland, will give a short seed talk. Professor Marc Bungenberg will provide insight into the development of the European legal framework in the steel sector under the heading "The European Coal and Steel Community: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow". The subsequent panel discussion on the challenges facing the steel industry will feature Stefan Rauber (SHS Stahl-Holding-Saar), Kerstin Rippel (Wirtschaftsvereinigung Stahl) and MEP Jens Geier. The discussion will be moderated by Professor Till Patrik Holterhus, Co-Director of the Europa-Institut at Saarland University.
In the afternoon, the experts will focus on the raw materials and energy markets: Dr Peter Buchholz, Head of the German Raw Materials Agency, will talk about the distribution of essential raw materials in times of geopolitical challenges. Professor Christian Tietje from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg will address the EU's raw materials supply and external raw materials policy in his presentation. Dr Stefan Foppe from Stahlwerke Bous will provide insights from a practical perspective.
"The internal steel market and competition, or a new industrial policy for the steel sector?" is the key question of the day's second topic. Professor Walter Frenz (RWTH Aachen University) will speak on the topic of "A new balance between competitiveness and decarbonisation". Professor Daniel Gros (Bocconi University) will address energy prices and the competitiveness of European industry in his presentation. Alexander M. Julius (Macrometal, EUROMETAL) will describe the practical perspective.
On 26 February, the focus will be on sustainable transformation and innovation in steel production and the protection of the steel industry through European trade policy. The second day of the conference will begin with a short seed talk by Jonathan Weber (SHS Stahl-Holding Saar) on green hydrogen. This will be followed by a keynote speech by Saarland's Minister for Economic Affairs, Jürgen Barke.
Professor Stefan Lechtenböhmer (University of Kassel) will shed light on the transformation to hydrogen-based primary steel production, and Professor Ruven Fleming (University of Groningen) will discuss the legal framework for hydrogen in production and application. Dr Max Lienemeyer will supplement this with practical experience from the European Commission.
The concluding panel will address the protection of the steel industry through EU trade policy. Topics such as anti-dumping regulations, subsidies, the new overcapacity regulation and the EU's new CO2 border adjustment system will be discussed. Professor Patrick Abel (University of Innsbruck) will provide insights into current initiatives with which the EU aims to ensure fair and, in particular, sustainable steel trade. Axel Eggert from EUROFER will comment on this from the perspective of European companies.
Further information:
https://www.europainstitut.de/news
Contact for questions
Prof. Dr Marc Bungenberg, Dr Mareike Fröhlich, Dr Philipp Reinhold
Europa-Institut at Saarland University
Contact:conference(at)europainstitut.de ,froehlich(at)europainstitut.de , reinhold(at)europainstitut.de
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