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Politicians from Brussels and Berlin visit rff

Members of various parliaments as guests in Stuhr

20.02.2025

The composition of the delegation that visited the municipality of Stuhr in early February is not one you see every day. In addition to Bernd Lange, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the INTA Committee (International Trade) of the European Parliament, Peggy Schierenbeck also came to Stuhr in her capacity as Member of the German Parliament to discuss current and future challenges on internationally active enterprises with rff Rohr Flansch Fitting Handels GmbH.

Both parliamentarians were accompanied by a delegation from the district parliament and the municipal council led by the Mayor of Stuhr, Stephan Korte. Consequently, politicians from Brussels, Berlin and Stuhr were all gathered around the same table. Utilising the example of a leading company active in both national and international markets, they examined which European, national and municipal policy issues are of significance.

After a tour of the firm, which procures, stocks and supplies steel and stainless-steel pipes and fittings worldwide, rff managing director Michael Allexi initiated a discussion session. In this, he reported on the current challenges within the international trading environment, excessive energy costs, in particular for manufacturers and sales markets in the sector, complex regulations with regard to the CO₂ Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and its documentation. In addition, economic policy factors such as reducing bureaucracy and challenges arising from supply chain and insolvency legislation were also addressed. In the course of this, Michael Allexi also took the opportunity to highlight improvements urgently required by the companies affected, including with regard to numerous regulations at municipal level, with current examples used to illustrate where medium-sized enterprises such as rff, have particular difficulty.

“The discussions within this gathering, which cover a wide range of political viewpoints, offer us a rare, excellent opportunity to show members of the European and national parliaments the policy tasks, regulations and framework conditions that we are faced with on a daily basis,” says Michael Allexi. Both Bernd Lange and Peggy Schierenbeck were visibly surprised at the complexity of the official and sector-relevant requirements involved.

“The complexity as well as the opportunities and challenges of European legislation become more clearly evident with examples such as these. I am therefore very grateful for this constructive discussion with rff. The findings are also important for my work and that of the steel sector as I will be discussing them with my colleagues in Brussels,” says Bernd Lange. He has been a member of the European Parliament since 2009, Chair of the International Trade Committee since 2014.

Peggy Schierenbeck, a member of the Bundestag since 2021, also gleaned key findings from the visit. “In my view, events such as these are valuable as they assist me in my work as a parliamentarian and our legislative function within the Bundestag. I will raise these issues with the relevant committees in order to achieve an improvement for the companies affected.”

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