Evangelos Mytilineos sent a clear message about the need to strengthen European industry and protect strategic raw materials, warning that Europe risks undermining its own competitiveness if it continues to export valuable resources it needs for itself. The executive chairman of Metlen, speaking on CNBC’s Squawk Box Europe with Steve Sedgwick and Ian King, addressed geopolitical shifts, energy security, and the challenges facing the European economy. He placed particular emphasis on the need to maintain a strong productive base, noting that the conditions that allowed Europe to thrive for decades — affordable energy, large export markets, and American security guarantees — can no longer be taken for granted.
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Mytilineos: The warning on aluminium and raw materials
According to Mytilineos, recycled aluminium is a telling example of the contradictions in European industrial policy. While the European Union pursues decarbonisation and promotes recycling, significant quantities of aluminium scrap are being exported outside Europe, depriving businesses of vital raw materials. Evangelos Mytilineos pointed out that the United States imposes a 50% tariff on primary aluminium but a zero tariff on scrap, resulting in European exports of this material to the American market surging by 243%. “Europe cannot pursue industrial competitiveness while allowing the resources essential to its industry to be directed elsewhere,” he stressed, effectively calling for stronger protection of European productive capacity.
Ukraine and the risk of a new Yalta
On the geopolitical front, the Metlen executive chairman addressed developments surrounding Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s proposal for a meeting with US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. He suggested that such a meeting could evolve into a “new Yalta” — a scenario in which the major world powers discuss Europe’s future without meaningful European participation. This prospect, he noted, raises serious questions about the continent’s international influence and its ability to shape developments that directly affect it.
Energy storage and strategic autonomy
Particular attention was given to electricity storage, a sector in which Metlen has significant experience through battery storage projects in the United Kingdom. The company recently inaugurated in Greece a standalone 330 MW power storage system — the largest in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Evangelos Mytilineos highlighted the contribution of such installations to grid security, drawing a direct link between energy sufficiency and industrial growth.
In closing, he stressed that Europe must make better use of its traditional strengths — its universities, innovation, culture, and intellectual property. Strengthening industry, reducing energy costs, and achieving strategic autonomy are, in his assessment, essential prerequisites for European power to carry genuine weight on the international stage.
