September 22, 2025

International Stainless & Special Steel Conference 2025

he new frontiers of European steel in the face of mounting challenges in a geopolitical context shaped by wars and tariffs: this was one of the key issues discussed at the International Stainless & Special Steel Conference 2025, the world’s leading event dedicated to the stainless and special steels industry, organized this year in Turkey by SMR.

Three days of debates and in-depth discussions explored the latest developments in the sector and the outlook for the future, opening as usual with the keynote address by Markus Moll.

A call for Europe to find the courage to embrace the reforms needed to remain competitive (“supporting domestic demand; tackling the problem of excessively high energy costs; safeguarding and attracting strategic raw materials; restoring a level playing field with our competitors, without falling into excessive protectionism”); the need to rethink the Green Deal (“starting from a technologically neutral approach”); and the urgency of implementing concrete policies to defend national industries—particularly the most strategic ones, such as steel.

These were some of the themes highlighted by Antonio Marcegaglia, who spoke on the first day of the conference.