Poker AI Turns to Trading Three former DeepMind researchers taught an AI to beat professional poker players. Now
EquiLibre Applies Poker AI to Stock Trading, Hits $500M Valuation
Scientology Volunteers provide needed humanitarian help after natural disasters in Venezuela
Press ReleaseThis article is based on a press release or official communication. The European Times republishes it as a public service.
Nearly 400 Volunteer Ministers have been mobilised between Caracas and La Guaira, with supplies, rescue coordination, emotional assistance and international support reaching families affected by recent natural disasters.
KINGNEWSWIRE // PRESS RELEASE // BRUSSELS/CARACAS, 2 July 2026 — In the wake of recent natural disasters that have struck several areas of Venezuela, the Scientology Volunteer Ministers have mounted one of their largest humanitarian operations in the country, working in coordination with the Church of Scientology International, the Church of Scientology of Caracas, the Church of Scientology of Valencia, private-sector allies, national rescue groups and international emergency teams.
The operation is running around the clock and includes humanitarian assistance, logistical coordination, emotional and spiritual support, donation management, supply distribution and support for rescue teams working in the most affected zones. According to those involved in the response, the immediate priorities have included Caracas and La Guaira, while assistance has also reached other affected areas, including Morón and Tucacas.
Rhaiza Ojeda, Director of Scientology in Venezuela, said that the response has required continuous coordination between volunteers, donors, rescue personnel and families waiting for news of loved ones.
“We have received approximately 20 tons, including clothing, shoes, food, hygiene items, medicine, utensils for children, mats, safety boots for rescuers, headlamps for rescuers, picks, shovels, brooms and many other things,” Ojeda said in remarks from the relief operation. She added that much of what had arrived had already been distributed to those in need.
Ojeda said that the humanitarian teams are also identifying continuing needs, including infant formula, milk for older children, adult diapers for elderly people, and technical support for damaged structures and affected communities. “We have received supplies, but we have distributed almost all of them,” she said. “We are mainly supporting Caracas and La Guaira, because we consider them to be the two areas of greatest risk and greatest need.”
A major component of the operation has been cooperation with the Topos rescue organisation of Mexico, an internationally known search-and-rescue organisation with extensive experience in disaster zones. With logistical backing and field coordination from Scientology Volunteer Ministers, specialised rescue personnel have been supporting evaluation, rescue and technical assistance in the areas most affected by the disaster.
The Volunteer Ministers have also helped coordinate transport and movement of specialised personnel, supplies and humanitarian aid into affected zones, including support for rescuers, medical personnel, engineers and infrastructure specialists working to save lives and restore essential services.
Venezuelan actress and humanitarian Ruddy Rodríguez, who has been assisting and communicating from the relief effort, stressed that the response is not a brief appearance but a sustained commitment to families still facing uncertainty.
“I speak as a human being, not as an actress,” Rodríguez said. “I feel that at this moment Venezuela needs hopeful information. We must not discard or close the hope of life, because there is still life.”
She added that rescue and relief teams must continue to act with urgency. “Under that rubble, under all that earth, there are still people breathing, still people asking for help,” she said. “This is the beginning. This is not something to stay for a little while and then leave.”
According to Rodríguez, at the time of her remarks there were “almost 400 Volunteer Ministers divided between Caracas and La Guaira,” with additional volunteers and support expected from other countries. She noted that Volunteer Ministers and supporters had arrived from many countries, including Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil, the United States, Israel, Spain and others, with Mexican rescue teams also joining the effort. “Disaster unites us,” she said. “We all go to one place.”
The response has also extended beyond Latin America. European Scientologists have rallied to send assistance to Venezuela, and several volunteers from Spain have already joined the humanitarian forces on the ground, travelling to Venezuela to serve as Volunteer Ministers. Organisers said the international mobilisation reflects the broader Volunteer Ministers principle that, in the face of human suffering, practical help and human solidarity must move quickly.
In an interview with Noticias Ecovisión, Rodríguez described the emotional purpose of the relief effort as well as its logistical one.
“I think the most important thing right now, as any volunteer group, is to help strengthen, to rehabilitate hope, to rehabilitate the greatness, to truly rehabilitate all that is good and great in Venezuelans so we can keep going,” she said. “This is truly a very hard moment for all Venezuela, and I feel great pride in the love of Venezuelans for Venezuelans, and for the foreign countries that have had the opportunity to lend us their support, their rescue workers, their rescue dogs. Truly, thank you. I believe every Venezuelan feels truly grateful for that support.”
Rodríguez also emphasised that the work is open in spirit and purpose, focused on service rather than affiliation. “This is a long process. This is only beginning,” she said. “Those who want to be trained to help others, here in Valencia, and also in Caracas, we can train them so they can be Scientology Volunteer Ministers without needing to be Scientologists. There is no race here, no colour, no specific religion. We all work for one common purpose: to continue bringing well-being and helping the people of Venezuela, our people, who need it so much at this moment.”
Beyond material aid, Volunteer Ministers have been providing emotional support to survivors and to families waiting for information about missing relatives. Ojeda described lines of relatives seeking news and support near the centres of assistance.
“There is always a cordon of relatives eager to know what happened to their families,” Ojeda said. “We also attend to those groups. We look after the children. We are making sure they are well. If they are going to stay all night, we care for them, we attend to them, we give them emotional help.”
She described the work as “a crusade of humanity,” adding that Venezuelans must respond with empathy after a shock of this scale. “Right now, Venezuelans have to be truly empathetic with one another so we can support each other, stand behind each other, and get ourselves out of this shake-up we have experienced, which was very hard.”
The Scientology Volunteer Ministers programme was established by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology religion, and operates under the motto, “Something can be done about it.” The programme trains volunteers to provide practical assistance in times of disaster and social need, including support for individuals and families affected by loss, displacement and trauma. Volunteer Ministers have participated in relief work following earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, fires and other emergencies in numerous countries.
Ivan Arjona, representative of the Church of Scientology to the European Union, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the United Nations, said the Venezuelan operation illustrates the practical meaning of human dignity in a moment of crisis.
“What is taking place in Venezuela is a reminder that human rights and human dignity begin with the person in front of us,” Arjona said. “Food, water, a blanket, a trained volunteer, a rescue team that can reach a dangerous area, or a word of hope to a family waiting through the night — these are concrete expressions of human dignity. European Scientologists have not looked at this tragedy from a distance. Many are sending assistance, and volunteers from Spain have already travelled to Venezuela to stand alongside local teams and affected families. That spirit of service reflects the best of Europe’s civic tradition: responsibility, solidarity and respect for every human life.”
Arjona also thanked the International Association of Scientologists for the emergency support being provided in Venezuela, saying that the humanitarian effort demonstrates the importance of cooperation between religious communities, civil society, rescue specialists and private partners. “When public institutions, volunteers, faith-based groups, professionals and citizens work together, the response becomes faster, more humane and more effective,” he said. “In such moments, the question is not what separates people, but what can be done to help them.”
The current operation in Venezuela includes the reception, classification and distribution of food, drinking water, medicines, hygiene products, clothing, blankets, children’s supplies and safety equipment. Volunteer teams are also assisting with the organisation of centres for children and families, support for displaced communities and coordination of resources for those who have lost homes, relatives or essential belongings.
Representatives of the Volunteer Ministers said the scale of the emergency requires disciplined coordination as well as compassion. “When a tragedy of this magnitude occurs, every minute counts and every person can make a difference,” they said. “Our volunteers are working day and night to help save lives, support affected families and bring hope where it is most needed. Venezuela is showing once again that solidarity is stronger than any disaster.”
The Church of Scientology, its missions, groups and members are present throughout the European continent, where their recognition as charitable and bona fide religious communities continues to grow. Inspired by the works of L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology-supported humanitarian initiatives include drug prevention education, human rights awareness, moral education through The Way to Happiness, and Volunteer Minister service in times of need. Across Europe and internationally, these activities reflect a continuing commitment to education, prevention and community betterment.
Quake latest: Food grows scarcer for thousands of Venezuelan families
Before the disaster, the World Food Programme (WFP) was already assisting around 500,000 people through school meals and community support. Now, the agency is shifting its work toward emergency assistance.
Holding his three young children by the hand, one stricken father told UN humanitarian teams he no longer had shelter, water or food.
The children’s mother had been hospitalized in Caracas, and the family had lost neighbours and relatives under the rubble.
Hungry and homeless
The scene, described from La Guaira by WFP’s Director in Venezuela, Stephanie Hochstetter, captures a new urgency after the earthquakes: for many families, surviving the disaster also means figuring out where the next meal will come from.
“It’s heartbreaking to see the desperation,” she said, speaking at a virtual press briefing for UN correspondents from one of the integrated service centres the UN has set up in the region.
WFP has already distributed emergency food packages to 1,200 people in La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit areas, and is preparing to scale up assistance to reach half a million people in shelters over the next three months.
“The needs for food, safe water, shelter and essential services are immediate and critical,” Ms. Hochstetter said, speaking from the coastal state.
Uncertainty reigns
At the centres set up after the earthquakes, some families can still cook. The problem is that many can no longer buy food regularly.
The destruction of homes and infrastructure, combined with lost income and disrupted services, has left thousands of people in a state of extreme uncertainty.
WFP is distributing both ready-to-eat products and food families can prepare themselves.
The agency currently has more than 3,000 tonnes of food inside Venezuela, enough to feed over 10,000 families for two months. It is also purchasing supplies locally and maintains reserves in Colombia that could be reallocated quickly if needs exceed the country’s available capacity.
Initial appeal
WFP has launched an initial $15 million appeal to provide emergency food, logistical support and emergency communications to up to half a million people over the next three months.
The figure is a first estimate. Needs could grow as humanitarian teams reach isolated communities and finish assessing damage in the areas hit hardest by the quakes.
Ms. Hochstetter warned the emergency will not end once attention to the earthquakes fades.
“What we have learned from other earthquakes of this magnitude is that when the spotlight fades, the needs do not disappear,” she said.
Reserves ready to move
The ports of La Guaira and Puerto Cabello remain operational for humanitarian assistance, keeping open a key route for food and other supplies to arrive.
Beyond reserves inside Venezuela and Colombia, more than 1,400 tonnes of relief items from various organizations are stored at WFP’s regional logistics hub in Panama, ready to be dispatched.
The agency is working with authorities and other humanitarian partners at integrated service points where food and other basic services are distributed. Reaching more remote communities, however, will require dedicated operations, as many families cannot travel to these centres.
The immediate priority is preventing the loss of a home or a family member from turning into a prolonged hunger crisis.
Venezuela earthquake disaster: needs ‘skyrocketing’, say relief agencies
The miraculous story of the three-year-old’s rescue in the worst-hit northern region came as tens of thousands of people remained without adequate shelter, after the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes struck less than a minute apart, on 24 June.
“As the death toll rises, needs are skyrocketing,” the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said in an online alert on Tuesday. According to the authorities, nearly 2,000 deaths have been confirmed and more than 6,400 people have been rescued so far.
UN quake response includes:
- UNICEF: flown in enough supplies for 100,000 people for three months
- UNHCR: providing shelter, warns many basic needs are increasing.
- OCHA: coordinating dozens of international rescue teams still at work.
- UNDAC: assessing urgent needs across worst-hit communities.
Multiple UN agencies and partners remain on the ground in the hardest-hit areas working alongside local authorities and aid partners to help families access shelter, healthcare, protection and other essential services.
“Every life matters,” the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, insisted on Wednesday, as national and international search and rescue teams remained on the ground in La Guaira.
Also helping to assess needs, UN Disaster Assessment Coordination (UNDAC) teams are continuing their work to know “where and for whom humanitarian assistance is needed”, said UNDAC public information officer Veronique Durroux.
In total, some 1,000 buildings, including hospitals, have been damaged or completely destroyed, along with more than 400 schools and water systems.
In response to the emergency, an initial 47-tonne shipment of humanitarian supplies from the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, arrived in Venezuela on Tuesday.
Those supplies are in addition to a regional shipment from Panama that arrived on 28 June. Combined, they will support more than 100,000 children and families over three months.
Urgent funding call
“UNICEF is on the ground and working around the clock to reach as many children and families as possible,” said UNICEF’s Gabriel Vockel, speaking in La Guaira. “The first flights with water, medicine and many other supplies have reached the country and we are grateful for the solidarity. And we ask for donations to UNICEF because with more funds, we can save more lives, reach more children, and reach as many families as possible.”
The shipment – facilitated by the European Union via the UNICEF logistics hub in Copenhagen – includes emergency health kits for urgent medical care, supplies for safe births, newborn care, disease prevention and treatment.
Water purification and storage supplies have also been delivered, along with tents for child-friendly spaces and wheelchairs. Other recreational and early childhood development supplies that have been sent are designed to help children regain a sense of normalcy and continue learning.
“Families across the affected states are in urgent need of safe water, as well as access to health care,” said UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, Roberto Benes. “Many are sleeping outside, afraid of more aftershocks. These supplies will help us reach children and families with what they need most right now…But the needs on the ground are far greater than what’s arrived.”
Kids impacted in six states
The agency estimates that some 680,000 children need humanitarian assistance across the six states affected by the earthquakes – the most significant seismic event to strike Venezuela in more than a century.
“Communities remain at risk from continuing aftershocks, which have numbered more than 600 since the initial quakes,” UNICEF noted.
UNICEF estimates that $52 million is required to respond to the earthquake emergency, as part of its wider 2026 Humanitarian Action for Children appeal for Venezuela, which stands at US$137.6 million and was, prior to the earthquakes, only 35 per cent funded.
Expanding areas under Israeli control in Gaza increase risks to civilians, UN warns
The alert comes amid continued displacement and mounting humanitarian pressures across the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT)
In a statement, the combined Humanitarian Country Team in the OPT said the expansion of the area under Israeli control, together with movement restrictions, are limiting access for aid workers and reducing the space available for civilians already displaced by the conflict.
Lethal force used for access
According to the statement, Israeli forces have used lethal force to enforce access restrictions in areas they control since the start of the stuttering ceasefire agreement.
Between 10 October 2025 and early April, the UN verified the killing of 196 Palestinians in Israeli attacks reported near areas where Israeli forces are deployed. Those killed include 18 women and 43 children.
Many of those killed were reportedly moving through areas that lacked clear demarcation on the ground, while many others were injured.
Impact on aid
The statement also highlighted the impact on humanitarian operations, saying restrictions on movement continue to cause delays and interruptions to life-saving assistance.
Some humanitarian partners have had to reduce or temporarily suspend critical activities, affecting thousands of families, particularly following the killing of service providers working in those areas
‘Shrinking’ available space
The UN and its humanitarian partners also warned that expanding control measures are shrinking the areas available to civilians.
Most Palestinians in Gaza have already been displaced multiple times and are now concentrated in increasingly limited areas.
According to the UN, access-restricted areas now cover about 65 per cent of Gaza’s land, with most areas off limits to residents and all requiring humanitarian organisations to coordinate access. Access by sea also remains prohibited.
Targeting must end
The UN and humanitarian non-governmental organisations reiterated their call for an immediate end to the targeting of Palestinians who are deemed to be straying too close to Israeli forces.
Civilians must always be protected in line with international humanitarian and human rights law., they urged.
The UN said families fled an area of Beit Lahia in Gaza after Israeli forces advanced, reportedly setting three tents ablaze by dropping incendiary munitions from the air and placing yellow cement blocks marking a further expansion of the “Yellow Line”.
Health impact
Humanitarian agencies also warned that skin diseases and acute watery diarrhoea continue to spread, driven by overcrowding and poor water and sanitation conditions.
The aid response remains constrained by severe access restrictions and funding shortages, with less than a quarter of this year’s humanitarian appeal funded so far.
Amid these challenges, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said this week that it had cleared half of the solid waste mountain which has accumulated through the conflict at Firas Market in Gaza, describing it as a significant step towards restoring the historic commercial hub.
Some 250,000 cubic metres of waste have been removed, clearing 75 per cent of the market area.
The Technology Behind Modern Football’s Biggest Transfer Decisions
Football transfers are no longer driven by instinct alone. Multi-million-dollar deals now pass through layers of data models,
Venezuela quake: Key services crippled and health workers missing
The UN aid effort – Key Facts
- Six days after the earthquakes, UNHCR reports widespread food shortages in La Guaira, the worst-hit state, with basic services collapsed, connectivity largely cut, and rising tension over access to aid.
- A UNHCR rapid assessment across La Guaira, the Capital District, Miranda, Aragua and Carabobo found about half of survivors sheltering with relatives or neighbours, while almost 40 percent are in streets, public spaces, churches, schools or improvised shelters that fall short of basic safety and hygiene standards. UNHCR also flagged unaccompanied and separated children among those surveyed.
- As of Monday, authorities had confirmed 1,719 deaths, at least 5,034 injuries and 15,866 people affected or displaced.
- WHO says health services are under extreme strain: of 21 verified facilities across Caracas, La Guaira, Miranda and Falcón, three are in critical condition and six are structurally damaged or only partly functional, driving overcrowding, surgical backlogs and breakdowns in biosafety and morgue services.
- WHO warned of rising outbreak risk — including measles, diphtheria, pertussis, yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, Zika, oropouche and malaria — worsened by low pre-quake vaccination coverage and the loss of health workers, including those covering maternal care in La Guaira.
- A 47-metric-ton UNICEF shipment of health, water and education supplies, drawn from the EU stockpile at its Copenhagen hub, arrived Tuesday, with more aid to follow. Combined with an earlier shipment from Panama, it should support over 100,000 children and families over three months, though UNICEF estimates 680,000 children need help and is appealing for $52 million for the response.
Widespread shortages
Six days after powerful back-to-back earthquakes struck central-northern Venezuela, “food shortages are widespread” in La Guaira, the hardest-hit state, said UNHCR, the UN refugee agency.
“Basic services have broken down and connectivity has been largely severed”, while community tensions are rising as access to assistance is constrained, added spokesperson Carlotta Wolf.
And in the aftermath of the massive disaster “there is panic…people want to have access to aid as soon as possible”, she continued.
Sub-standard shelters
A rapid needs assessment conducted by UNHCR at the end of last week across La Guaira, the Capital District, Miranda, Aragua and Carabobo states showed that half of those surveyed were staying with neighbors or relatives after the disaster, while almost four in 10 “are living in streets and public spaces, and others in churches, schools, or improvised facilities”, Ms. Wolf said.
“These improvised shelters do not meet the minimum protection standards… for privacy, safe spaces and basic levels of hygiene and comfort,” she insisted.
The UNHCR spokesperson also expressed concern about the presence of unaccompanied and separated children highlighted by the survey.
As of Monday, Venezuelan authorities confirmed 1,719 fatalities, at least 5,034 people injured and 15,866 people affected or displaced, UNHCR said.
‘Chaotic service delivery’
“Health services are under extreme pressure now,” said Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the UN World Health Organization (WHO), as a surge in trauma cases exceeds the capacity of health facilities.
People affected by the earthquakes in La Guaira State, Venezuela, are now living in tents.
WHO-verified data from Saturday for 21 health facilities across Caracas, La Guaira, Miranda and Falcón indicates that three are “in critical condition”, six have structural damage or are partly functional, while the remainder “remain operational under significant strain”, Mr. Lindmeier said.
He warned of “chaotic service delivery” and patient flows, marked by overcrowding, growing surgical backlogs… [a] breakdown in biosafety measures and severely stressed staff.”
The WHO spokesperson also highlighted “critical gaps” in healthcare provision, including the collapse of forensic and morgue services, as well as inadequate casualty registration and tracking of missing persons.
Health risks multiply
“There’s an increased risk now of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, such as measles, diphtheria, pertussis, as well as yellow fever and other vector and waterborne diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, Zika, oropouche and malaria,” he warned.
The WHO spokesperson also pointed to an “elevated health risk” for the displaced, owing to low vaccination coverage pre-earthquake, and limited access to vaccines now.
Mr. Lindmeier further explained that several healthcare workers in La Guaira remain missing, including those responsible “for the entire maternal care pathway in the area”, which has created a critical gap in obstetric care.
Despite record $100 million shortfall, Palestine relief agency still ‘a critical platform’ for Gaza recovery
Operating primarily on voluntary donations since its inception in the late 1940s, UNRWA continues to provide lifesaving and essential services in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, from school programmes to polio vaccines, with the UN chief calling it a “lifeline” to Palestinians.
However, UN Secretary-General António Guterres raised sharp concerns on Tuesday about the agency’s cash shortfall, which he said “has grave implications for the entire region”.
“UNRWA is a stabilising force in an age of instability, registering, protecting and assisting highly vulnerable populations and countering the hopelessness that can fuel insecurity,” he said.
Nominal ceasefire
A pendulum of pledges followed the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel that left 1,200 dead and 250 taken hostage, with subsequent Israeli strikes that turned much of Gaza into rubble, displaced 80 per cent of the population and killed at least 70,000 people, according to local authorities.
Since 2023, attacks on UNRWA have left some 390 staff dead and UN property bombed, striking such critical services as schools and hospitals alongside disinformation drives, with allegations in early 2024 that some agency staff were complicit in attacks on Israel.
While the allegations were independently investigated and nations, except the United States, have thawed their frozen funding alongside growing private donations, a $100 million gap remains.
Unkept pledging promises
Every year, Member States gather to pledge their support for the agency, but what is promised is not always what arrives, making it challenging to operate and has forced the agency to cut back on what it is mandated to deliver.
For example, in 2025, pledges reached $878 million, but UNRWA received only $839 million, a pattern also seen in 2024.
“They cannot keep going like this without urgent backing and financial support from Member States,” Mr. Guterres said, adding that the liquidity crisis also jeopardises UNWRA’s ability to implement its mandate, given by the General Assembly and renewed six months ago with overwhelming Member State support.
UN chief appalled by smear campaigns
Appalled by continued efforts to marginalise or tarnish UNRWA’s critical work with diplomatic roadblocks and smear campaigns, the UN Secretary-General said “UNRWA has taken decisive steps to ensure its house is in order.”
That included already implementing more than 40 recommendations from the 2024 independent Colonna report, he said.
“I’m counting on you to keep speaking up for the agency,” he said, urging them to also pledge support for UNRWA’s essential work.
The second phase of the polio vaccination campaign in Gaza starts on 14 October 2024 from the central areas.
‘Critical platform for recovery’
At the same time, the work of UNRWA remains unchanged, even though funding shortfalls have meant reduced service delivery and other cost-saving measures.
Indeed, needs have grown since the war and amid the recovery, where most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents remain in shelters and tents facing food insecurity and a dearth of essential services.
Today, with the stuttering ceasefire in Gaza stretching to eight months, nearly 1.7 million people still depend on UNRWA, which operates like a civil service, said Christian Saunders, the agency’s acting Commissioner-General.
“UNRWA is a critical platform for recovery, institutional stability and lasting peace,” he said, underscoring that its capacities are “vital” for:
- Implementing Security Council resolution 2803 (2025) that recognised the Hamas-Israel ceasefire in Gaza and the [President Donald] Trump Declaration for Enduring Peace and Prosperity
- Efforts of President Trump’s Board of Peace
- The international committee for the administration of Gaza
Among UN’s first aid agencies
Established by the General Assembly in 1948, UNRWA was never meant to be permanent, but hinged on the notion of the creation of a Palestinian State alongside Israel.
Nearly eight decades later, the UN agency continues to provide such lifechanging services as access to clean water, education, healthcare and hope, the UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock told Member States gathered at the pledging conference.
“A Palestinian State means that UNRWA is no longer needed,” she said. “Until that day comes, let us never stop working for the two-State solution and let us never stop supporting UNRWA.”
What exactly does UNRWA do?
Click the links below to learn more about the UN agency’s critical work in occupied Palestinian territory from 1949 to now:
Watch the UNRWA pledging conference on UN Web TV:
EU makes progress against invasive alien species, but spread continues
More than 300 rapid eradication actions have been carried out across the EU, with nearly two thirds proving successful — yet invasive alien species continue to spread and new introductions remain likely, shows a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing published today.
EU Steel Shield Comes Into Force
New import quotas mark a sharper phase in Europe’s response to global overcapacity
The European Union’s new steel import regime will apply from 1 July, cutting tariff-free access and doubling duties above quota as Brussels tries to protect a strategic industry from global overcapacity. The measure gives steelmakers stronger trade protection, but it also raises questions for manufacturers, importers and European partners whose supply chains depend on predictable access to the EU market.
The European Commission said on Tuesday that new rules to protect the EU steel industry will set tariff-free quotas at 18.3 million tonnes a year and apply a 50% duty to imports above quota across 26 steel product categories. The regulation replaces the existing safeguard system as it expires on 30 June.
For Brussels, the decision is both economic and strategic. Steel is central to construction, vehicles, energy infrastructure, defence supply chains and the clean technology needed for Europe’s industrial transition. EU policymakers argue that rising excess capacity abroad, combined with trade restrictions in other major markets, has increased the risk of steel being redirected into Europe at prices domestic producers cannot absorb.
A harder trade defence line
The new framework is more than a routine tariff adjustment. It marks a shift from temporary safeguards toward a more assertive industrial policy, one that treats steel capacity as part of Europe’s economic security. The Commission says the measure is intended to restore fair competition while keeping the EU market open within defined limits.
The system also introduces stronger supply-chain traceability through a “melt and pour” requirement, aimed at clarifying where imported steel was actually produced. That provision is designed to reduce circumvention through third countries and give regulators a clearer picture of how global steel flows are entering the EU market.
The measure follows a proposal first unveiled last autumn, when The European Times reported on Brussels’ plan to halve tariff-free access and raise above-quota duties to 50%. Since then, the debate has sharpened as Europe has tried to balance producer protection, downstream costs and relations with trading partners.
Pressure on supply chains
The steel sector has long warned that plant closures and idled capacity could weaken Europe’s ability to produce the materials needed for renewable energy, transport networks and defence. Trade unions and steelmakers have argued that without stronger action, decarbonisation plans could be undermined by imports made under looser environmental, labour or subsidy conditions.
But the tighter regime also brings risks. Automotive, construction and machinery companies rely on steady steel supply, and some may face higher costs if quota limits are reached quickly. Importers will need to monitor quota use more closely, while smaller firms may have less room to absorb sudden duty exposure.
The United Kingdom adds another layer of complexity. British and EU steel markets remain closely connected despite Brexit, and the UK government has set out parallel steel trade measures from 1 July, including reduced tariff-free quotas and a 50% tariff above quota. The two regimes reflect a shared concern over global overcapacity, but they also require careful coordination to avoid disrupting cross-border supply chains.
Industrial policy with social stakes
The EU’s steel decision lands at a moment when industrial policy is increasingly tied to employment, regional resilience and climate goals. Steel plants often anchor local economies, supporting skilled jobs well beyond the factory gate. Their decline can leave regions exposed not only to unemployment, but to a loss of technical capacity that is difficult to rebuild.
At the same time, protection alone will not solve the sector’s deeper problems. European steelmakers still face high energy prices, heavy investment needs and the difficult economics of shifting toward lower-emission production. If the new import regime creates breathing space, the public-interest question is whether that space is used to accelerate cleaner production and secure decent work, rather than simply delay restructuring.
The coming months will show how quickly quotas are used, how importers adapt and whether trading partners challenge the measure. For now, the EU has chosen a clearer line: steel is no longer treated only as another traded commodity, but as a test of whether Europe can defend open trade while preserving the industrial base on which its wider ambitions depend.
