German Finance Minister and Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil called for a complete ban on steel imports from Russia to European Union member states ahead of a planned meeting between German officials and steel industry representatives in Berlin.
Klingbeil, a representative of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), emphasized that raw steel sheets produced in Russia and processed in the European Union are still exempt from the current sanctions, and this situation is unjustifiable for workers in the German steel industry.
He added: “It is impossible to explain to our steel workers why Europe has kept the market open for Vladimir Putin.”
The comments came ahead of a steel summit on November 6, which Chancellor Friedrich Merz is hosting with industry representatives, trade unions and leaders of steel-producing states such as North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Saarland.
