Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné, in a written answer on 1 July 2026, defended the European Commission's existing and planned policy toolkit to counter the offshoring of strategic industries, responding to concerns raised by MEP Estelle Ceulemans (S&D, Belgium) over ArcelorMittal's relocation of back-office functions to India, which could affect thousands of jobs. Séjourné stressed that keeping high-quality jobs in the EU is essential for industrial resilience and economic security, and pointed to a mix of funding, trade defence, and regulatory measures already in place or under development.
The answer, which did not announce any new specific instruments to regulate or limit offshoring, instead catalogued a series of recent and ongoing Commission initiatives. Séjourné highlighted the Industrial Accelerator Act, which proposes low-carbon and EU-origin requirements for strategic sectors, and the Steel and Metal Action Plan, part of the Clean Industrial Deal launched earlier. He also noted the new trade measure replacing steel safeguards, which entered into force on 1 July 2026, designed to protect the EU steel sector from global overcapacity. The Commission's approach relies on improving the business case for keeping production in Europe through better access to energy, markets, investment, and skills, as outlined in the Competitiveness Compass and the One Europe, One Market roadmap agreed on 24 April 2026.
The answer reflects a policy orientation that favours incentives and framework conditions over direct prohibitions on offshoring. Stakeholders most impacted include EU steelworkers and their unions, who face job losses and skill erosion; ArcelorMittal and other steel producers, who must navigate new trade measures and decarbonisation requirements; EU consumers and downstream industries, who may face higher costs from protectionist measures; and EU taxpayers, who fund support schemes like the Innovation Fund and state aid for decarbonisation. The Commission's response signals that further regulatory action to limit offshoring is not imminent, but that existing tools will be leveraged to retain high-value activities. Institutional follow-up is expected through the implementation of the Steel and Metal Action Plan and the tracking of the Competitiveness Compass in the 2026 Annual Single Market and Competitiveness Report.