From the carbon frontier, the end of the warranty period to the unresolved definition of "green steel" itself, the 2026 Scandinavian meeting has constantly returned to a market that has changed position faster than it can be absorbed, and the transition is not a link in the chain feels able to go there alone.
The EUROMETAL Nordics Conference, held in Helsinki on June 3, 2026, brought together analysts, economists, lawyers, manufacturers, distributors, and end users during a period of unusual regulatory turbulence in the European steel sector. The event, which was opened by Markku Witto from the Finnish Technical Traders Association and EUROMETAL Board member Peter Sikorski, moved from an international session on the European market, CBAM and trade law to a Nordic session on regional economics and distribution, and a round table on decarbonization across the value chain. Over the course of six presentations and the final discussion, the same picture emerged: the market is in a state of suspended animation, the rules are still being developed, and the transition to a green economy has stalled not only due to lack of demand, but also due to the lack of an agreed definition of what it sells at all.
The market held its breath
The international session opened with an analytical case. Maria Tanatar, deputy director of McCloskey by OPIS, said that since March, the price of hot-rolled coils in Northwestern Europe has decreased by about 40 euros per ton, as buyers suspended restocking ahead of new quotas due to be introduced on July 1. In her review, she analyzed CBAM's cost-cutting mechanisms, anti-dumping cases, more than 20 million tons of idle capacity in the EU, and an extensive global map of environmentally friendly steel production projects and premiums. The general opinion, which she reported that any real price recovery would occur only in the second half of the year, set the tone for today's day, determined not so much by current conditions as by impending changes.
CBAM as a moving target
If any abbreviation prevailed, it was CBAM. Alexander Siryk, founder of Metals Consulting International, devoted an entire session to this, and his main idea was that this mechanism, although it is now at the final stage of its development, is still under active development. Verification will not begin until 2027, the purchase of certificates will follow in February of the same year, by 2034 discounts on free products will decrease to zero, the scope of application may expand to subsequent products, default values can be adjusted, and prices will be set weekly.
