The European Steel Association (EUROFER) has stated that 64 CEOs of European steel companies have urged the heads of state and governments in Europe to restore the balance between industrial, energy and climate policies in order to preserve the competitiveness of the industries which are at the core of the European economy.

As outlined by EUROFER, the European steel producers are asking for a "level playing field" to safeguard the global competitiveness of Europe's trade and energy intensive industries, amid CO2 emission reduction targets which have been proved to be technically and economically impossible to achieve with current technologies.

According to EUROFER, the European steel industry has lost over 15 percent of its workforce since 2008. EU crude steel output is down 20 percent from pre-crisis levels. Without rebalancing the EU's industrial, climate and energy policies, the steel industry, which provides 1.4 percent of the EU's GDP and 350,000 direct jobs and about 1.5 million dependent jobs, will further decline and with it industrial manufacturing and jobs in Europe.