“European and Luxembourg industry is under enormous pressure from countries that are partly low cost or subsidised by their respective governments,” said Fedil director at a presentation of the industry federation’s 2024 activity report on 24 April 2025. “Europe must find a response to this. The energy transition also has a cost, and we need to spare the consumer in general and industry in particular. There are several major areas of work, and Europe must not hold itself back with overregulation.”
“Following the publication of Enrico Letta’s report on the single market and Mario Draghi’s report on European competitiveness, we have in particular carried out a detailed analysis on subjects within our remit, such as overregulation and the energy issue,” added Fedil president . “We have taken the decision to strengthen our expertise in international trade and economic relations.”
Competitiveness is a “top priority”
In 2024, Fedil--which has 19 employees and 755 members--provided more than 1,900 pieces of personalised advice, carried out 37 projects and organised 34 events, including the 2025 New Year’s reception, which was attended by the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola. “We had a lot of exchanges with our members,” said Winkin, “with the major question being: ‘How can we preserve the competitiveness of European industry in the face of its American or Asian competitors?’”
"Given the latest developments in international trade policy and geopolitical issues,” he continued, “restoring competitiveness is an absolute priority, indeed a matter of survival, for Luxembourg and European companies. Legislation and rules such as the CSRD and CS3D affect supply chains. We can’t complain about Donald Trump’s tariffs if we ourselves add yet another layer on our exporters.”
On the omnibus, the postponement of which , the Fedil director said: “We know that some member states have legislation on sustainable supply chains, for example, so it makes sense to tackle this issue at European level so as not to destroy the internal market. But from the outset, we said that there was a risk that the initiative of these key regulations in the field of sustainable finance would be counter-productive. We don’t know whether these well-intentioned laws will lead to shortages, interruptions or significant price rises, because the diversification that we are seeking in supplies with CSRD, for example, will be reduced. Sources of supply are likely to close, and companies are already leaving Africa. In trying to be more cautious so as not to incur penalties, they will certainly close doors, and we’ll have to see which ones stay open. This is also something we want to work on with our members, to understand what dynamics can be triggered by this type of legislation.”
ArcelorMittal in Luxembourg in question
“Some European politicians have said that sustainable supply chains are a protective measure that does European industry good,” said Winkin. “I’m not convinced because, firstly, I’m not a protectionist; and secondly I think there’s a real risk of shortages in the long term. So I think there are a few areas where Europe has a credibility problem in going and talking to the Americans, like the cost of CO2 for example.”
Fedil continues to fire on all fronts, looking at the challenges of the Rearm Europe plan and the opportunities for industrial companies to position themselves in the defence sector. “In the field of innovation and technological transformation, our experts have focused on the transposition and implementation of major European regulations, such as the Data Act, the AI Act and the NIS 2.0 directive,” said Georges Rassel. To optimise information for its members, Fedil has also set up dedicated conferences and exchange platforms.
On 23 April 2025, ArcelorMittal announced that it would be cutting jobs at seven French sites, including Florange, because of the lack of competitiveness of steel in Europe. “I don’t think this is surprising, because for months, if not years, the steel industry has been alerting the European Commission to its situation, whether in terms of trade or energy prices,” said Winkin. “All these issues have not been resolved, so it’s not unusual for the sector to find itself in difficulty. For the time being, we haven’t had any news about the Luxembourg sites, so I hope they won’t be affected. I am confident, however, because we have niche products that are innovative and well-positioned on the international market. But the Asian competition is not sleeping, so this announcement underlines the effort we are making to be constantly innovative.”
This article in French.