In line with the adopted motto "Security, Europe!" the Polish presidency will focus on security issues in the broadest sense - from defense capabilities, protection of people and borders, through health security to energy transition. The adopted program strongly emphasizes the importance of critical raw materials and the importance of ensuring their stable supply.
The first meeting of the Council's Working Party on Competitiveness, which was attended by Jarosław Kluczniok, Vice-President of the JSW Management Board for Development, at the invitation of the Council, discussed the Critical Raw Materials Act adopted last year.
Kluczniok, acting at the same time as the Chairman of the CRM Alliance, presented the market's perspective and the sector's demands. Representing the Critical Raw Materials Alliance, Jarosław Kluczniok familiarized the representatives of member states with the difficulties faced by mining companies operating in member states or wishing to invest in Europe, pointing out, among other things, high energy costs, administrative burdens, as well as the multiplicity and inconsistency of EU regulations.
- The industry needs a stable regulatory environment directed at the competitiveness and protection of European industry, which will favor investors and encourage the development of new projects in the critical raw materials and infrastructure sectors. Therefore, it is crucial to provide a predictable regulatory framework by reviewing existing regulations, harmonizing and simplifying them aimed at the stability of doing business in the long term - 15-20 years.
In his speech and discussion with representatives of all EU member states, Kluczniok also outlined the biggest challenges and paid special attention to the context of regaining competitiveness by European industry. Kluczniok referred to the current situation in the steel market and the steel market value chain, of which JSW is a participant. The steel sector is an example of how the failure to protect the EU market from global overcapacity destabilizes a key economic sector and the EU's long-term security.
- On behalf of the sector, we hope that the new regulatory initiatives and sectoral action plans announced by the Commission will address the challenges facing European industry, with a particular focus on the raw materials and steel sectors - concluded Kluczniok.
