Spanish Government confers Grand Cross of Civil Merit on Mr Mittal

On February 8, 2008, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Miguel Ángel Moratinos, conferred the Grand Cross of Civil Merit on the President and CEO of ArcelorMittal.

Mr Mittal is, according to the Head of the Spanish Diplomatic Service, one of the most outstanding businessmen in the context of economic globalisation. “This is a great honour not only for me personally, but also for the Company and in particular our 13,000 employees here in Spain,” Mr Mittal stated.

During the award ceremony, the Minister recalled the importance of the presence of ArcelorMittal in Spain where ArcelorMittal España operates 15 sites and 34 distribution centres. Over the last 4 years, ArcelorMittal has invested close to 1 billion Euros in its Spanish sites.

Mr Mittal mentioned that one of the major challenges of being a steel producer in Europe is keeping the industrial capacity while complying with stringent environmental regulations. He urged the government to ensure that the correct balance was found between reducing emissions and enabling industry to continue to play an important role in the European economy.

Collaboration: Óscar Fleites