THE WAR IN UKRAINE, REPOWER EU AND THE EU CEMENT INDUSTRY – TAKING DECISIVE POLICY ACTIONS IN A CHANGING GEOPOLITICAL CONTEXT

April 2022

The recent invasion of Ukraine by Russia is causing human suffering and unnecessary loss of life. As an Association but especially as human beings, we are shocked and appalled by the atrocities of the war and our thoughts go out to all those in pain and sorrow in these difficult moments. We are heartened by the many actions of support that have been initiated by our member associations and companies as well as by the strong support and actions taken by the European institutions.

The conflict has also laid bare some major weaknesses in Europe’s supply chains. These weaknesses have come to the fore in political discussions on security of supply and continuity of global supply chains. As representative association of a major industrial sector, CEMBUREAU feels it has to proactively and constructively contribute to that debate.

The EU cement industry remains fully committed to the carbon neutrality goal it set forth in its 2050 Carbon Neutrality Roadmap. We do not advocate for slowing down the pace of necessary reforms (e.g. “Fit for 55” package) to respond to climate change and believe that a high level of ambition should be maintained. At the same time, it is essential to respond to the changing geopolitical situation by improving Europe’s energy independence, as recently outlined in the REPowerEU Communication. Below, we highlight four main policy areas, where we propose key actions that would help the cement industry cope with the current situation whilst furthering the EU priorities on energy and climate.

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