The European Steel Industry: Restructuring in an Era of Globalisation
February 1999

Abstract

Over the last 12 months, the European steel industry, has seen the successful privatisation of one of its last state owned steel companies, Spanish Aeeralia and the formation of the world's third largest and Europe's largest steelmaker, Thyssen Krupp Stahl (TKS) as well as a number of other smaller scale acquisitions.
Against this background of increased restructuring activities in the European steel industry, I would like to address and discuss three questions:

1. What are the challenges facing the European steel industry post-privatisation?
2. What does globalisation mean for the European  steel industry?
3. Where are the opportunities for the European steel industry?