The plan comes ahead of the EU’s inaugural Strategic Dialogue on Steel and its upcoming Steel and Metals Action Plan.
EuRIC’s action plan highlighted several “major” roadblocks it feels is holding back the metals recycling sector, including:
- Stagnating domestic demand for recycled metals.
- Biased methodologies for defining green products.
- Less focus on recyclers in key policies like the Clean Industrial Deal.
- The lack of recyclers’ representation in EPR scheme governance.
EuRIC said that the barriers lead to stifled investment and limit Europe’s potential to generate its own resources “at a time when the EU27 remain trapped in reliance on third-country supplies”.
Julia Ettinger, EuRIC’s secretary general, commented: “Before looking abroad for primary raw materials, Europe must first support its own industry – the recycling one – that produces high-quality, low-carbon resources that could be a game-changer for the EU’s environmental, economic, and strategic objectives.
“Yet, recycled materials often remain overlooked by European manufacturers and the recycling industry remains insufficiently supported by EU policymakers. That’s why EuRIC’s Circular Economy Action Plan for Recycled Metals lays out six concrete measures to serve as a policy roadmap to change this and shape a circular and competitive future for the EU steel industry.”
As a solution, the action plan calls for mandatory recycled content targets and “preserving open and free trade as a necessary counter-outlet”.
EuRIC has also urged policymakers to embed circular economy principles into upcoming and existing legislation.
The confederation concluded: “As the EU seeks to chart a way forward for the future of the metals industry and build resilience across supply chains, EU recyclers remain a key partner in delivering a circular, competitive, and self-sufficient Europe. We urge EU policymakers to take swift action and work closely with the recycling sector to turn policy ambitions into tangible results.”
Strategic Dialogue on Steel and Steel and Metals Action Plan
On 7 February 2025, president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced the creation of a Strategic Dialogue on Europe’s steel industry.
Leyen said at the time: “The steel industry is a key sector of our European single market. At the same time this industry is of utmost importance in our fight against climate change. The Strategic Dialogue will help develop a concrete Action Plan to tackle the unique challenges of this sector in the clean industrial transition. We want to ensure that the European steel industry is both competitive and sustainable in the long-term.”
The first meeting is to be held today (4 March 2025).
