We are beginning to see the benefits of globalconsolidation.

Its not always you get to hit the iron when it is hot. I believe in hitting it so hard, that it gets hot.

We have no intention of shutting down plants. We have always said there will be no redundancies or lay-offs as a result of this merger.

I am very confident that we will be able to convince all the stakeholders - the shareholders, the governments and the employees, that this is in their best interests.

The danger, though - and there have been signs of this recently - is that Europe begins to demonstrate a return to more nationalist sentiment. To my mind, that would be a great mistake.

This is a learning in the business life that first of all you need to have commitment, dedication and passion for what you are doing.

I understand that this has taken a lot of politicians by surprise. But we believe that this is an important and right step for the steel industry.