Former EU Parliament Chief Takes Deciding Vote at Stahlwerk Bremen as Steel Sector Fights for Survival

Tens of thousands protest job losses and green transition costs; former EU Parliament head Schulz takes tie-breaking board seat at key steel plant.

Tens of thousands of German steelworkers are expected to march through Berlin on June 12, demanding government action to safeguard jobs and the industry’s future. The rally, called by the IG Metall union, will wind from the Brandenburg Gate to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. It comes as the sector reels from the lowest crude steel output in 16 years and a deepening conflict over how to finance its green transformation.

In the middle of this upheaval, Martin Schulz, the former President of the European Parliament and one-time SPD chancellor candidate, has taken a pivotal role at one of the country’s key steel plants. Schulz was appointed as the neutral member of the supervisory board at the Bremen steelworks, owned by ArcelorMittal. He succeeds Walter Riester, who held the position for more than two decades.

Under Germany’s system of parity co?determination, the neutral member holds a tie?breaking vote when worker and employer representatives deadlock. Riester noted that he never had to cast such a vote – a stalemate never arose during his tenure. The supervisory board met for the first time in its new composition on Wednesday, June 11.

Schulz, upon taking the seat, stressed the strategic importance of domestic steelmaking and its future prospects. His appointment lands at a moment when the industry is battling multiple fronts.

German raw steel production slumped to 34.1 million tonnes in 2025, the weakest figure since the crisis year of 2009. At Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe, management is pushing plans to cut around 11,000 jobs. Trade policy has added to the pressure: the European Union has halved the volume of tariff?free steel imports and slapped a 50 percent punitive duty on additional shipments, a move designed to block cheap foreign supplies.

The green transition presents another flashpoint. Saarland’s state premier, Anke Rehlinger (SPD), wrote to Chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier this week, warning that a planned revision of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme could derail investments in low?carbon steel production. One example of the scale involved: the “Power4Steel” project by SHS in Saarland carries a total budget of up to €5 billion, with €2.6 billion in public subsidies. Roughly 13,000 jobs depend on the initiative. Political pressure is mounting for state?owned companies such as Deutsche Bahn to commit to buying green rail steel, providing a guaranteed market for the costly new capacity.