EU countries want to amend the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act to include made-in-Europe quotas for low-carbon steel, according to a draft compromise text obtained by POLITICO.
The European Commission’s proposal mandates at least 25 percent of steel used in public procurement projects must be “low-carbon,” with no requirement for it to be from the EU. By contrast, the proposed legislation already includes EU-origin requirements for other industrial materials, stipulating that 5 percent of cement and 25 percent of aluminum used in public projects must be sourced from within the bloc.
But according to the draft compromise, the Council of the European Union wants to go further, requiring that “at least 25% of the total volume of steel used shall be low-carbon and of Union origin.”
European steelmakers and industry groups have for months lobbied Brussels to include such a provision in the IAA, arguing that the legislation — designed to boost European competitiveness while driving industrial decarbonization — should create a lead market for EU-made green steel, as it does for other sectors.
