Brussels, 02 February 2023 – All downside factors that have materialised in the first half of last year have persisted, continuing to impact the European steel market. Apparent steel consumption is forecast to see a deeper-than-expected drop of -4.6% for 2022 (previously set at -3.5%). The outlook for 2023 also remains negative (-1.6%), paving the way for the fourth steel demand recession in five years. A modest recovery will be in sight in 2024 (+1.6%), though subject to high uncertainty.

At the Bibliothèque Solvay, the dignified stronghold of knowledge on the hill of the royal Leopold Park in the European capital of Brussels, the New Year's reception of the European Dialogue Program of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom took place on January 31, 2023, with approximately 200 guests. The range of topics at the gathering of European liberals was broad from questions about the expansion and deepening of European integration to a discussion of the role and responsibility of the EU in the world.

"High energy prices and the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act have led the EU to finally return its attention to the international competitiveness of European industry. However, the debate about the attractiveness of Europe as an industrial location must not be limited to somehow mirroring the subsidies promised by the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act in Europe.