27/11/2019

Δηλώσεις στον Euractiv.com σχετικά με την ανάγκη υιοθέτησης μιας “επιθετικής” βιομηχανικής πολιτικής, για την προστασία του κλάδου του αλουμινίου

The EU urgently needs to adopt an “aggressive” industrial strategy to protect its aluminium sector, which has been under unfair pressure from both the US and China, Greek MEP Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou told EURACTIV.com.

“There must be an ‘attack’ in the context of industrial strategy. Changes in the institutional framework of competition may also be needed. If we want to make an industry competitive, some rules need to change,” said Asimakopoulou, who is the vice-chair of the Committee on International Trade in the European Parliament.

The New Democracy (EPP) MEP continued, saying in the medium term the new EU executive needs to should strengthen the defense mechanism where required.

“To make it easier for the industry, for instance, to document that there is a competitiveness issue in the market […] not wait a year for Chinese evidence, and in the meantime, another Chinese factory has been built,” she said.

“There has to be transparency, that is, forcing China to tell us what it is doing, not looking at Google Earth to see what is happening,” she added.

Europe’s aluminium sector is of strategic importance with €40 billion turnover employing one million people in about 600 plants across Europe.

According to the European Aluminium association, in 15 years, China has become the leading aluminium producer and built an excess capacity that is five times bigger than the total European production.

“Excess Chinese capacity is depressing aluminium prices and putting pressure on European producers,” European Aluminium Director General Gerd Götz said.

Asimakopoulou said China subsidises the aluminum industry throughout the value chain, from production and processing to final products.

“It openly subsidises businesses, energy costs, grants low-interest loans and invests tremendously in infrastructure,” she said during an event at the EU House earlier this month.

“Today we had a presentation from the OECD and showed us a photo of a €100 million investment completed within a year to produce aluminum.”

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