Trancerie Emiliane on the front line in Brussels: from protest to a historic result for the future of European manufacturing

On Monday, September 7, Trancerie Emiliane – as a founding company of the ESN (Electromechanics Synergy Network) – participated in Brussels in the major mobilization organized by Eurometal, joining around a hundred industrialists to sound the alarm to the European Commission.

A delegation led by the three owners, Nadia, Franco, and Paolo Felisa, took to the streets marching with empty coffins, a strong and symbolic gesture to denounce the concrete risk of extinction for the entire steel and metalworking supply chain, a sector experiencing heavy job losses every day.

Current data describes a situation of profound difficulty:

• Nearly one million jobs lost in the European Union since 2019.
• Over 104,000 layoffs in the automotive components sector alone.
• Major industrial groups forced to downsize facilities or relocate production.

At the root of this crisis is severe market distortion. On one hand, European companies face high costs linked to rigorous EU environmental standards; on the other hand, foreign competitors – particularly Asian ones – flood the European market with finished and semi-finished products at significantly lower prices, free from the same sustainability rules.

Furthermore, current protection instruments show serious loopholes: the CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) currently protects only raw steel, leaving the downstream supply chain—which employs over 13 million people in Europe—completely exposed.

The position of Trancerie Emiliane and ESN is clear: they are not asking for subsidies, but fair trade rules. The priorities brought to the attention of the European institutions include:

1. The extension of customs protections and CBAM to the entire production chain, including steel derivatives and downstream products.
2. The priority defense of "Made in Europe," to prevent the ecological transition from turning into an irreversible strategic dependency.

The mobilization and relentless work carried out on the front line by ESN and its representatives find extraordinary institutional confirmation today. Following today's vote (September 15, 2026) in Strasbourg, the European Parliament adopted by a large majority (464 votes in favor) its position to significantly expand CBAM to downstream products – welcoming the demands put forward by the supply chain – and to establish a robust temporary decarbonization fund.

This milestone represents a historic and decisive step in balancing climate objectives with the industrial competitiveness of our supply chain, and it is a source of great satisfaction: it is the tangible result of immense teamwork and ongoing engagement that saw us committed on the front line.

The battle fought in Brussels is not just about protecting individual companies, but about safeguarding European industrial know-how and the future of millions of families.