National Council calls for emergency aid for steelworks in Gerlafingen
Published: Thursday, Sep 26th 2024, 13:30
Volver a Live Feed
The National Council is calling for immediate help for the endangered steelworks in Gerlafingen SO. It wants to instruct the Federal Council to take immediate measures together with the canton of Solothurn and the company to save the plant. He does not rule out the possibility of emergency legislation.
On Thursday, it adopted a corresponding motion by Christian Imark (SVP/SO) by 96 votes to 83 with 7 abstentions. There are still fears of plant closures, he said. Signals from the Department of Economic Affairs indicated that the steelworks in Gerlafingen and the one in Emmenbrücke LU were not considered to be systemically relevant.
However, both are environmentally relevant, said Imark. They recycle 1.5 million tons of steel scrap every year. If this recycling took place abroad, the raw materials would not remain in the country and CO2 emissions would be higher. Swiss steelworks work "green".
The Federal Council is aware of the difficult situation facing steelworks, said Economics Minister Guy Parmelin. He himself and Environment Minister Albert Rösti are in contact with the industry and politicians to create good framework conditions. Duty-free steel exports to the EU are once again possible thanks to numerous interventions in Brussels.
There are a variety of instruments to help the plants in this challenging situation. Energy costs are also falling. And there is a legal basis to support environmental projects. The use of emergency legislation is not appropriate.
The motion now goes to the Council of States. It has referred a similar proposal to the responsible committee for in-depth examination.
©Keystone/SDA
Spanish 
English 
German 
French 
Arabic